基础设施融资创纪录的一年如何塑造2026年的市场

Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction Introduction Infrastructure investment in 2025:can a record fundraising year This year has set a new benchmark for infrastructure fundraising. By the end ofSeptember, private infrastructure funds had raised a cumulative US$200 billion, Fundraising strategy Overall, mega funds have captured a disproportionate share of inflows - around 80% of capital went tojust six managers. However, as investors seek more differentiated strategies alongside these mega The composition of infrastructure fundraising reflects a notable pivot towards higher return strategies.Core-plus and value-add funds now dominate, accounting for two thirds of the market. This is a reversal from last year, where value-add led the pack.Meanwhile, interest in core strategy funds has waned,making up the lowest share of funds in five years. This trend underscores investors’ willingness to take2 Fundraising sectors and regions Capital has also tilted towards specific sectors,mostnotably the energy transition and digitalinfrastructure. Renewables now account for thebiggest share in sector-focused fundraising 2025,overtakingdigital and data centres which However,funds targeting North America havesince edged back. As ever, multi-regional and amassed over 45% of funds by the end of H1,helped along by the close of Brookfield’s GlobalTransition Fund II (the largest sector-specific fund This picture does seem rosy for infrastructure atfacevalue.However,the time taken to raisethesefunds,the pace of deployment intorenewables - a sector which has seen difficultiesover2025,and a digital sector coming under Geopoliticaluncertainty shifted attention fromNorth America to Europe in Q1, when almost all Time on the road for fundraising A striking change during 2025 has been the timethat funds spend on the road, to seek capital. Theaveragefundraising period has stretched to This raises the question: if funds are taking twoyears to raise capital, what happens in between A key factor underlying the elongated fundraisingcycle is the slower pace of capital recycling. Withheftyallocationsmadeinrecentyears,institutionalLPs are at or near their targetexposurelevels,and the rate of distributions(capital returned from realised investments) haslagged behind new investments. Investors have New pools of capital Tapping into private wealth is seen as the nextfrontierfor alternatives,ready to revolutionisehow capital is raised. Private wealth is a muchlargerpool of capital than that available from Thismeans that liquidity must be managedcarefully and cannot be promised daily, which canbeseen as an issue for a retail investor.However, fund managers have started creating traditionalLP,but is still under allocated toinfrastructure.However,tapping retail capitalcomes with its own challenges. Many financialadvisors and high net worth investors are still56 So,with fundraising now high,and investorscreating new vehicles to attract private wealth tothe asset class, how easy will it be to deploy Deployment and deal making challenges Deploying capital in 2025 has been challenging. Global transaction activity has grown in value terms,coming from new greenfield developments rather than acquisitions.There has been a 22% year-on- year increase in total capital deployed in the first nine months of 2025. However, brownfield M&A activityhas seen the weakest deal volume in recent years, even though overall deal value rebounded. Sector8 Regional deal activity From a regional perspective, deal activity so thisyear has been uneven. The U.S. has remainedthe largest market by deployment and Europe This raises the question, if funds are taking twoyears to raise capital, what happens in between In continental Europe, investment levels vary bycountry.Poland saw a jump in deal activity,driven by renewable energy and grid investments.TheNordics,which have always been ratedhighly by investors, have seen sentiment coolingdue to volatility in power prices. France has been The U.S. market has been dominated by megacapproject financing like the US$21.2 billionCalcasieu Pass 2 LNG development, as well as datainfrastructure and energy transactions.Dominance in data centres is evident and hascontributedtwo-thirds of global data centreinvestment by value. In fact, data centres have9 Thecommon issue across Europe is thebureaucratic processes that slow projects down,Investorsnote that the region is good atimplementingregulations but not as good atrapidly delivering projects. If Europe does not pickup the pace in bringing deals forward and cuttingred tape, capital will look elsewhere. Such about Europe’s picture is mixed. The UK has stood outwith an impressive 81% jump in deal flow year-on-year, bolstered by renewable energy projectsand large refinancings. Sentiment towards the UK hasimproved,investorsnotingaclearerinfrastructurestrategy and proactive initiativessuchas the government inviting Australianpension capital and advancing re