RNS Number : 0595J
Pantheon Infrastructure PLC
03 April 2024
 

 

03 April 2024

 

 

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN OR ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EEA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

 

This announcement has been determined to contain inside information.

 

 

PANTHEON INFRASTRUCTURE PLC

Results for the year ended 31 December 2023

 

The Directors of the Company are pleased to announce the Company's full year results for the year ended 31 December 2023. The full annual report and financial statements can be accessed via the Company's website at www.pantheoninfrastructure.com or by contacting the Company Secretary by telephone on +44 (0) 333 300 1950.

 

 

Highlights:

 

·     The Company has now fully deployed its funds into a diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets, generating dividends in line with, and NAV total returns exceeding, its pre-IPO target.

·     As at 31 December 2023, the Company had invested in or committed £487m to thirteen assets.

·     The Company announced three new investments during the year totalling £96m: European towers business GD Towers, Nordic fibre operator GlobalConnect, and UK based battery storage and electric bus fleet specialist Zenobē.

·     Net asset value (NAV) of £504m; 106.6 pence per share as at 31 December 2023.

·     NAV growth of 7.8% during the year, and NAV Total Return of 10.4%.

·     The second interim dividend payment of 2p per share for the year ended 31 December 2023, payable on 23 April 2024, takes the full year dividend to 4p per share.

·     £397m Market cap at 31 December 2023.

·     Increased revolving credit facility to £115m and extended to March 2027 after the year end, increasing available liquidity.

·     £5.8m of share buybacks during the year and a further £2.6m after the year end, increasing NAV by 0.5p per share.

·     Refreshed buyback programme, after the year end, for up to £10m going forward.

 

 

The portfolio comprises assets in the following sectors: Digital, including wireless towers, data centres, and fibre-optic networks; Power & Utilities, including electricity generation, gas transmission and district heating; Renewables & Energy Efficiency, including smart infrastructure, wind, solar, and sustainable waste; and Transport & Logistics, including ports, rail, roads, airports and logistics assets.

 

Vagn Sørensen, Chair, Pantheon Infrastructure Plc, said: "I am pleased to present our annual report. PINT's impressive performance, despite the economic challenges of the last year, such as fluctuations in inflation, interest rates, and valuation discount rates, speaks volumes. The resilience of PINT's portfolio is further enhanced by its geographical and sector split, ensuring increased diversification and mitigating ongoing risks and uncertainty effectively. The dedication and discipline of the team, backed by tried and tested investment processes, have played a crucial role in overcoming obstacles and enabling PINT to continue to deliver against its objectives."

 

Richard Sem, Partner at Pantheon, PINT's investment manager, said: "Reflecting on our achievements amid challenging market conditions this past year, it is very rewarding to have been able to deliver on our stated strategy for investors. PINT's thematic approach to investment, gaining exposure to assets and companies backed by long-term secular trends, is underpinned by Pantheon's robust processes, risk management, patience and price discipline. We are particularly pleased to have fully deployed our funds and exceeded our pre-IPO NAV total return target - and we look forward to continuing to build value for our investors over the long term by providing access to a diversified portfolio of high-quality, global infrastructure assets."

 

 

 

Ends

 

For further information, contact:

 

Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP

Investment Manager

 

Richard Sem, Partner

Ben Perkins, Principal

 

 

+44 (0) 20 3356 1800

pint@pantheon.com

 

 

 

Investec Bank plc

Sole Sponsor, Financial Adviser and Bookrunner

Tom Skinner

Lucy Lewis

 

Lansons

+44 (0) 20 7597 4000

 

 

Public relations advisors

 

Lucy Horne

Millie Steyn

 

pint@lansons.com

 

+44 (0)7921 468 515

+44 (0)7593 527 234

 

 

Notes to editors

 

Pantheon Infrastructure PLC (PINT)

Pantheon Infrastructure PLC is a closed-ended investment company and an approved UK Investment Trust, listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange's Main Market. Its Ordinary Shares trade under the ticker 'PINT'. The independent Board of Directors of PINT have appointed Pantheon, one of the leading private markets investment managers globally, as investment manager. PINT aims to provide exposure to a global, diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets through building a portfolio of direct co-investments in infrastructure assets with strong defensive characteristics, typically benefitting from contracted cash flows, inflation protection and conservative leverage profiles.

 

Further details can be found at www.pantheoninfrastructure.com

 

LEI 213800CKJXQX64XMRK69

 

Pantheon

Pantheon has been at the forefront of private markets investing for more than 40 years, earning a reputation for providing innovative solutions covering the full lifecycle of investments, from primary fund commitments to co-investments and secondary purchases, across private equity, real assets and private credit. The firm has partnered with more than 1,000 clients, including institutional investors of all sizes as well as a growing number of private wealth advisers and investors, with approximately $62bn in discretionary assets under management (as of June 30, 2023).

 

Leveraging specialized experience and a global team of professionals across Europe, the Americas and Asia, Pantheon invests with purpose and leads with expertise to build secure financial futures. Further details can be found at www.pantheon.com.

 

 

 

PANTHEON INFRASTRUCTURE PLC

Access to high-quality global infrastructure assets

 

 

Purpose

Our purpose is to provide investors of all types with easy and immediate access to a diversified portfolio of highquality global infrastructure assets via a single vehicle, offering both a regular dividend payment and targeting capital growth.

 

This portfolio, which is diversified by sector and geography, is designed to generate sustainable, attractive returns over the long term. We achieve this by targeting assets which have strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, and underpin the transition to a lowcarbon economy. We invest in private assets which we believe will benefit from strong downside protection through inflation linkage and other defensive characteristics.

 

 

About us

Pantheon Infrastructure Plc (the 'Company' or 'PINT') is a closed-ended investment company and an approved UK investment trust, listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange's Main Market.

 

PINT provides exposure to a global, diversified portfolio (the 'Portfolio') through direct coinvestments in highquality infrastructure assets with strong defensive characteristics, typically benefiting from contracted cash flows, inflation protection and conservative leverage profiles. PINT targets assets which have strong sustainability credentials, which include projects that support the transition to a lowcarbon economy. The Portfolio focuses on assets benefiting from longterm secular tailwinds. The Company is overseen by an independent Board of nonexecutive Directors and managed by Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP ('Pantheon' or the 'Investment Manager'), a leading multi-strategy investment manager in infrastructure and real assets, private equity, private debt and real estate.

 

 

 

Highlights

 

At a glance as at 31 December 2023

£487m1

Capital committed

 

£504m

Net asset value (NAV)

 

4p per share

Total dividends2

 

£397m

Market cap

 

106.6p

NAV per share

 

10.4%

NAV Total Return

 

1. This refers to the investment fair values or amounts committed as of 31 December 2023. Invested assets represent those that have reached financial close and have been, or are in the process of, being funded, and may include amounts reserved for followon investments; and committed assets represent those which are announced and are subject to final financial close; and in legal closing assets represent those which are not yet announced but are in the final stages of legal closing. As at 31 December 2023, £471.7 million was invested and £15.7 million was committed across 13 assets.

2. Total dividends declared in relation to the year ended 31 December 2023.

 

 

Why invest in pint

 

The Company is building a global portfolio of investments with blended risk/return profiles, in line with targets across deal types, sectors and geographies for diversification.

 

1. Unique access to private infrastructure coinvestment assets

Pantheon, PINT's Investment Manager, has a large and global infrastructure network

PINT invests in infrastructure assets via coinvestments alongside highly experienced general partner sponsors ('Sponsors'), typically without additional management fees or carried interest leakage.

 

This is attractive for several reasons, including:

 

Unique opportunities

PINT provides investors with the opportunity to access Pantheon's substantial deal flow from its extensive network of bluechip infrastructure investors. These opportunities arise because Pantheon's wider infrastructure platform invests directly into Sponsors' funds and secondary transactions. As a trusted investor of scale, Pantheon then gains access to Sponsors' coinvestment deal flow.

 

Liquid access to illiquid markets

There are fewer public market infrastructure opportunities to access private infrastructure assets, as infrastructure companies often remain private for long periods of time and are structured in longer-term vehicles, which are aimed at institutional investors only. Investing in PINT provides immediate access to highquality coinvestment infrastructure assets not normally accessible to public market investors more broadly, both institutional and retail.

 

Portfolio construction

Pantheon uses coinvestments to select individual assets to gain exposure to, and tilt the Portfolio, within the parameters of PINT's investment policy, towards sectors based on the Investment Manager's view on relative value. This leads to the creation of a global and diversified portfolio, with the ability to focus on major investment and economic tailwinds.

 

Cost-effective access

The use of coinvestments can reduce the overall expense ratio and grosstonet performance spread of a portfolio, as most deals are offered with no ongoing management fee or carried interest charged by the Sponsor.

 

Sponsor specialisation

Pantheon, on behalf of PINT, is able to choose deals alongside a Sponsor with a distinct edge who may be best placed to create value in that particular subsector.

 

ESG

Through the Investment Manager, PINT looks to partner with Sponsors that have demonstrated strong capabilities in managing ESG risks and will actively engage with the Investment Manager where it identifies areas of concern. Pantheon has developed a bespoke ESG due diligence process, which utilises an in-house tool (an ESG scorecard) in addition to consultation with an external ESG specialist, which utilises a range of different data ESG sources. For more information, please refer to the ESG section below and on pages 58-62 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Infrastructure assets combine a range of attractive characteristics for longterm investors. Distinctively, infrastructure may mitigate the adverse effects of rising inflation and may provide an incomegenerating investment outside of traditional fixed income.

 

2. Favourable defensive longterm characteristics

Infrastructure assets can offer reliable income streams with inflation protection

Infrastructure assets may provide embedded value and downside protection across market cycles given the regulated and contracted nature of many of the underlying cash flows.

 

Infrastructure assets may provide a range of attractive investment attributes, including the following:

 

Stable cash flow profile

Infrastructure may provide a compelling, stable distribution profile similar to traditional fixed income, but backed by tangible assets. Infrastructure assets often offer reliable income streams governed by regulation, hedges or longterm contracts with reputable counterparties.

 

Inflation hedge

Infrastructure investments can provide a natural hedge to rising inflation, as many subsectors have contracts with explicit inflation linkage or implicit protection through regulation or market position. The majority of PINT's assets benefit from such protection.

 

Embedded downside protection

The vital role that many infrastructure subsectors play in our daily lives can make them an innately defensive investment. The tangible nature of infrastructure investments can provide a basis for liquidation and recovery value in downside cases. Furthermore, infrastructure investing is generally focused on gaining exposure to assets in a monopolistic or oligopolistic market which, with high upfront costs, can be a barrier to entry for new participants. Investments typically have long-term contracts with price escalators or inflation linkage with highquality counterparties, which offer further downside protection. Finally, high friction costs in certain sectors have been seen to discourage customers from switching providers, which can provide a stable and long-term customer base.

 

Diversification

Infrastructure can be a valuable portfolio diversifier alongside traditional and alternative investments. Historically, listed infrastructure returns have been only moderately correlated to traditional asset classes. The subsectors within the infrastructure universe and the drivers of such subsector returns tend not to be correlated with one another.

 

PINT continues to develop its diversified portfolio across sectors that benefit from secular tailwinds.

 

Pantheon has taken, and continues to take, a disciplined approach to PINT's strategy to construct a globally diversified portfolio with exposure across subsectors and geographies, while maintaining the flexibility to tilt exposures based on opportunities which may present compelling relative value. The Company has built a global portfolio of investments with blended risk/return profiles, in line with targets across deal types, sectors and geographies for diversification. Please refer to page 39 of the full Annual Report and Accounts or below for more detail.

 

3. Access to secular trends

Digital Infrastructure | 44%

Power & Utilities | 27%

Renewables & Energy Efficiency | 17%

Transport & Logistics | 9%

Net working capital | 3%

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

44%1

Data centres, fibre networks and towers

 

POWER & UTILITIES

27%1

Energy utilities, water and conventional power

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

17%1

Wind, solar, sustainable waste and smart infrastructure

 

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

9%1

Ports, rail and road, airports and e-mobility

 

1. Proportion of NAV of £504 million at 31 December 2023. Includes assets which, at 31 December 2023, were invested, committed or in legal closing.

 

Targeting capital growth and dividend returns.

The Company seeks to generate attractive riskadjusted total returns for shareholders over the longer term. This comprises capital growth with a progressive dividend, through the acquisition of equity or equityrelated investments in a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets with a primary focus on developed OECD markets.

 

The Company targets a NAV Total Return per share of 810% per annum.

 

4. PINT seeks to generate attractive riskadjusted returns

 

£487m

Capital committed

 

£504m

Net asset value (NAV)

 

2p per share

Second interim dividend per share1

 

1. Second interim dividend of 2p per share declared in relation to the year ended 31 December 2023. The Company is paying a total dividend of 4p per share for the year ended 31 December 2023 and, thereafter, is targeting a progressive dividend.

 

 

 

PINT AT A GLANCE

 

Thirteen infrastructure coinvestment assets1

 

Geographic diversification2

Europe 46%

North America 34%

UK 17%

Net working capital 3%

 

Sector diversification2

Digital Infrastructure 44%

Power & Utilities 27%

Renewables & Energy Efficiency 17%

Transport & Logistics 9%

Net working capital 3%

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

POWER & UTILITIES

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

 

1.Based on assets invested and committed at 31 December 2023.

2.Based on NAV of £504 million at 31 December 2023.

 

Netherlands (DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY)

Delta Fiber

Fudura

 

United Kingdom (POWER & UTILITIES, RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY)

National Gas
Zenobē

 

Ireland (DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

NBI

 

North America (DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER & UTILITIES)

CyrusOne

Cartier Energy

Calpine

Vantage Data Centers

Vertical Bridge

 

Spain (TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS)

Primafrio

 

Nordic (DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

GlobalConnect

 

Germany/Austria (DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE)

GD Towers

 

 

 

CHAIR'S STATEMENT

 

Investing in infrastructure has never been so important.

 

"It is satisfying that the successful period of deployment has been followed up with strong portfolio performance."

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair, Pantheon Infrastructure Plc

 

Introduction

I am pleased to present the annual report for Pantheon Infrastructure Plc for the year ended 31 December 2023. This is the second annual report since the Company's launch, and it is pleasing to see the Company has now fully deployed its funds into a diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets, generating dividends in line with, and NAV Total Returns exceeding, its pre-IPO target.

 

During the year, the Company's NAV per share grew by 7.8% to 106.6p per share, with earnings per share of 10.4p. Accounting for dividends of 3p per share paid in the year to 31 December 2023, this represents a NAV Total Return of 10.4% since 31 December 2022, or 10.7% after adjusting for the positive NAV impact of share buybacks, which exceeds the pre-IPO target of an 8-10% NAV Total Return per annum. Naturally, it is satisfying that the successful period of deployment has been followed up with strong portfolio performance.

 

Economic environment

The reporting period and subsequent months have continued to be characterised by further economic uncertainty. Most of the developed economies in which we invest have so far avoided the recessions that were widely expected in the first half of 2023, and market sentiment appears to foresee a soft rather than hard landing. Furthermore, there have been encouraging signs that central bank interventions have begun to curtail inflation, with strong indications that we have reached the interest rate peak, albeit one that policymakers have indicated will endure well into 2024. Nevertheless, the next twelve months will be characterised by important elections across a number of key market jurisdictions that might impact the future path of economic growth and interest rates, and regardless of when they may drop again, it looks likely that we have entered a new interest rate environment compared to that we have been in for the past 15 years.

 

Investor sentiment and discount management

With increased risk-free rates, some investors have sought to de-risk their portfolios with a move to the perceived safety of fixed income. Retail flows throughout the year were particularly affected by the increased cost of living resulting from high inflation and significantly higher mortgage servicing costs, which reduced the levels of surplus cash available for savings and investment.

 

In this environment, demand for the shares of listed investment trusts as a whole, including the infrastructure sector and PINT, has been subdued. As at 31 December 2023, PINT's shares traded at a discount of 21% to NAV, despite the performance and valuations of the underlying assets being robust.

 

We continue to believe that any share price discount to NAV is unjustified, as an investment in PINT offers a meaningful asset-backed yield, as well as capital growth and inflation protection that cannot be achieved by investment in a fixed income alternative. The Portfolio continues to perform robustly to varying economic and project-specific assumptions, including inflation, interest rates and valuation discount rates, as evidenced by the sensitivity analysis set out in the Investment Manager's report below and on page 35 of the full Annual Report and Accounts. As this demonstrates, portfolio diversification means the Company does not carry material exposure to any single sector-specific risk.

 

The Board continues to focus on the current level of discount and the impact it has on Shareholders' reported returns. Having set out our views relating to discounts prior to the launch of the Company, we were quick to react as the discount widened. On 31 March 2023, the Board announced the commencement of a programme to buy back shares up to a total consideration of £10 million.

 

£487 million of assets invested or committed1

4p per share total dividends declared for the year

 

1. This refers to the capital committed to assets which were invested, committed and in legal closing at 31 December 2023.

 

As at 31 December 2023, the Company had repurchased 7.4 million shares for a total consideration of £5.8 million, resulting in a NAV increase of 0.3p per share. Since that date, the Company has repurchased a further 3.1 million shares for a consideration of £2.6 million, resulting in a NAV increase of 0.1p per share. In total, the Company has now repurchased 10.5 million shares for £8.4 million since the buyback programme was announced.

 

Despite the positive NAV impact of the buyback programme, the Board remains acutely aware of the continued discount to NAV at which the Company still trades, and continues to believe that share buybacks represent an attractive use of shareholders' capital where surplus means are available. Accordingly, the Board can confirm that an additional £8.4 million has been allocated for further share buybacks, to restore the total remaining programme commitment to £10 million. The Board will continue to regularly monitor the Company's approach to buybacks in consideration of the prevailing share price discount to NAV and the Company's available liquidity.

 

Portfolio deployment and performance

As at 31 December 2023, the Company had invested in or committed to 13 assets totalling £487 million. The Company announced three new investments during the year totalling £96 million: European towers business, GD Towers, Nordic fibre operator, GlobalConnect, and UK-based battery storage and electric bus fleet specialist, Zenobē.

 

When considered alongside the total amounts deployed to and committed under the ongoing share buyback programme, the Company has now fully deployed its net IPO and subscription share proceeds. Whilst this clearly represents a major success for the Company and its shareholders, importantly it has been followed up with a period of strong performance across the Portfolio, with fair valuation gains translating to a higher NAV Total Return for the period versus the pre-IPO target.

 

The Company declared dividends totalling 4p per share in relation to the year to 31 December 2023, and remains committed to paying a progressive dividend, commencing with the first interim dividend for 2024. The Board is considering the dividend level for the current financial year and will announce the level of the first interim dividend in due course.

 

With all this considered, an investment into PINT continues to give an immediate exposure to a highquality, established and highly diversified portfolio. Further details of the Portfolio Companies and their diversification can be found in the Investment Manager's report below and on page 12 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Revolving credit facility

The Board was pleased to announce on 7 June 2023 a £52.5 million increase to its existing £62.5 million multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF), bringing the total to £115 million. In addition, after the year end the Company extended the term of the RCF by 15 months, effectively resetting the tenor at three years with the same pricing and terms.

 

The increase and extension to the RCF provide the Company with an enduring and flexible way to cover its risk buffers and working capital needs. It also gives us additional liquidity to increase diversification through further investment in highquality infrastructure assets from PINT's near-term investment pipeline, where we continue to see compelling opportunities. However, such investment will only be considered where it is materially accretive to shareholders in light of the current cost of such borrowings, and providing that the Company would not, as a result, become inappropriately levered or the facility to be fully drawn.

 

Oversight of the investment process and strategy

Investment management is delegated to Pantheon by the Board. Pantheon is responsible for reviewing, selecting and executing investment opportunities for the Company. However, it is a vital part of the Board's responsibilities to oversee these activities, to ensure the investment process is robust, and that the investments made are consistent with the aims, objectives and investment strategy of the Company.

 

To that end, the Board was delighted to join members of Pantheon's team on a site visit to Primafrio's Head Office and major distribution centre in Murcia, Spain, in June 2023. Primafrio was the Company's first investment commitment, announced a few months after our launch, and it was very pleasing to see the progress that it continues to make in the development of existing and new distribution centres and logistics infrastructure.

 

The Board, the Investment Manager and our corporate brokers, Investec, met with senior representatives from both Primafrio and Apollo, the Sponsor partner on the transaction. The visit provided the Board with valuable insight into, and assurance regarding, the Investment Manager's robust investment and underwriting processes, the strength of relationships with Sponsors, and an example of the access to the management teams of the Company's underlying assets accorded to the Investment Manager. The Board was delighted to be able to extend this visibility to shareholders when hosting the Company's inaugural capital markets day in November, covering key topics including market outlook, Portfolio overview and introducing some of Pantheon's key Sponsor relationships. We look forward to hosting more of these events in the future and welcome any suggestions on future content.

 

Through our oversight, such as the Primafrio site visit and regular meetings with the Investment Manager, the Board maintains comfort in the investment process and the quality of the Company's portfolio. As evidenced by the continued NAV growth, these businesses are in aggregate operating solidly and executing in line with the business plans on which our investments were based.

 

Strategy

As it has done since launch, the Company seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by constructing a diversified portfolio of high-quality assets across the global infrastructure investment universe. The Company focuses on assets that offer downside and inflation protection, which is particularly relevant in the current market environment. Leveraging Pantheon's extensive 14-year experience in infrastructure investing and its c.$22 billion infrastructure platform, PINT targets specific transactions that Pantheon deems to be most attractive, notably opportunities in businesses with strong operations and growth potential, in subsectors benefiting from long-term positive trends and managed by high-quality Sponsors. I am delighted that this approach to investment is now evident in the Portfolio that the Company has assembled through the opportunities provided by Pantheon.

 

Governance and sustainability

The Board takes its responsibilities to its shareholders, in accordance with good governance standards, very seriously, and we continually strive to improve our oversight of the Company and its transparency. During the period, we have had a particular focus on ESG matters and sustainability.

 

To ensure sufficient focus on these matters, we have formally created a new ESG & Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by Ms Finegan. Ms Finegan has been a nonexecutive Director of the Company since its launch and is an experienced infrastructure asset management professional with over 30 years of sector experience, performing a number of other board and advisory roles with an emphasis on ESG outcomes.

 

PINT's ESG & Sustainability Committee has responsibility for: agreeing, overseeing and monitoring the Company's ESG strategy; its ESG reporting and disclosure; its ESG risk management (alongside the Audit and Risk Committee); and ensuring effective stakeholder engagement.

 

Under the oversight of this committee, the Company published its inaugural sustainability report on 19 September 2023, providing (among other things) further insight into the sustainability characteristics of PINT's portfolio and relevant emissions data. The full report can be found on the Company's website: www.pantheoninfrastructure.com and a summary of the information can be found below and on page 58 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Shareholder engagement

A major part of the Board's purpose is to represent the interests, needs and wishes of the Company's shareholders. We are committed to maintaining open channels of communication and to engaging with shareholders in a manner which they find most meaningful, in order to gain an understanding of their views.

 

Shareholder meetings take place throughout the year with the Investment Manager, but as Chair I believe it is vitally important for the Board and I to hear views first hand. Throughout the year, the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and I offered meetings to a significant number of shareholders representing a majority of the share register by issued share capital. Several of them accepted our offer and we met with investors representing more than onefifth of the register.

 

Feedback from these meetings was overall very positive, and the engagement from the Board was well received. Naturally, shareholders were keen to see continued improvement and we have endeavoured to respond to many of the issues raised, such as: the share price discount to NAV (we have announced a programme of buybacks); providing confidence in valuations (we have continued to disclose valuation sensitivities); and improved ESG and climate disclosures (we have since published our sustainability report).

 

The Board always welcomes contact with shareholders, so if there are matters you wish to raise with us or if you would like a meeting, please feel free to contact us at the registered office or via the Company Secretary using the details below or on page 140 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Outlook

Infrastructure remains a key driver of economic growth, and therefore the need for investment into new infrastructure is arguably stronger than ever. Indeed, in the current environment, private investment is especially needed, and we believe will be ultimately rewarded, at a time where governments are facing significant budget deficits and rising debt levels.

 

The last six months or so have seen an even greater international focus on decarbonisation. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2023 was the warmest year on record, and the annual average global temperature approached 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The road to net zero globally requires sustained and extraordinary investment in new infrastructure. Private infrastructure has demonstrated a necessary role in filling that gap, and we believe it will continue to play an important part in funding global infrastructure investments.

 

The market for infrastructure investment remains competitive, and despite some recent signs of recovery, fundraising in private markets was challenging in 2023. PINT's strategy continues to be to identify and target companies that are set to benefit from key sectoral tailwinds, whilst exhibiting defensive characteristics and delivering growth in real terms across the economic cycle. Pantheon's wide capability to source new investments through its vast network and established partnerships, as demonstrated since PINT's launch, is all the more crucial in current market conditions. The Board remains optimistic about PINT's future investment opportunities and value creation potential.

 

With this in mind, and as already stated, we believe that the current level of discount is unjustified, and represents a compelling value opportunity for those seeking to invest into a fully deployed and diversified portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets.

 

Currently, it appears that much of the market is focusing purely on yield from gilts and bonds without considering prospects for capital appreciation. We continue to believe that PINT's strategy means it is well positioned for when investors again start to recognise the importance of growth potential in a well-balanced investment strategy, and have been further encouraged by the increased awareness relating to the ongoing cost disclosures issues affecting AIFMs, which may in time provide further buying stimulus in a market showing signs of recovery. The Board is confident of the Manager's ability to continue to source new assets and to manage the existing portfolio to deliver that growth. We also believe that infrastructure assets will provide much-needed resilience in the current uncertain world.

 

Board composition

It is now over two years since the Company's launch, and as Chair I have had no issues in committing the necessary time to oversee the Company alongside my other non-executive roles. Nevertheless, mindful of the perception, if not the reality, of my capacity to act as Chair, I intend to step-down at the Company's annual general meeting in 2025. It has been an extremely enjoyable experience to serve as Chair during such an exciting period for the Company, and I look forward to supporting the rest of the Board in the process to appoint my successor in the coming months, which will be led by our Senior Independent Director (SID), Ms Baldock.

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair

2 April 2024

 

 

 

PINT INVESTMENTS

EXISTING PORTFOLIO

 

 

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Primafrio

Specialised temperaturecontrolled transportation and logistics company in Europe primarily focused on the export of fresh fruit and vegetables from Iberia to Northern Europe.

 

Sector:                                                    Transport & Logistics

Geography:                                            Europe

Sponsor:                                                 Apollo

Website:                                                 www.primafrio.com

Date of commitment:                             21.03.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £47m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Niche market leader providing an essential service to resilient end markets. The company has demonstrated strong organic growth over a 15+ year operating history, including during major economic dislocations (20082009 global financial crisis and 20202021 Covid-19). The essential nature of Primafrio's market and its operations provide strong downside protection.

·    Value creation opportunities include inorganic growth, strategic M&A, and continued investment in Primafrio's cold storage logistics infrastructure footprint.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

CyrusOne

Operates more than 50 highperformance data centres representing more than four million sq ft of capacity across North America and Europe.

 

Sector:                                                    Digital: Data Centre

Geography:                                            North America

Sponsor:                                                 KKR

Website:                                                 www.cyrusone.com

Date of commitment:                             28.03.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £27m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Growth in data usage continues to drive data centre demand. In particular, the hyperscale segment represents a strong growth opportunity due to increasing cloud adoption and increasingly dataheavy technologies (5G, AI, gaming, video streaming).

·    Benefits from defensive characteristics such as longterm contracts with a largely investment grade credit quality customer base, price escalators and limited historical customer churn.

 

 

 

POWER & UTILITIES

National Gas

The owner and operator of the UK's sole gas transmission network, regulated by Ofgem, and an independent, highly contracted metering business.

 

Sector:                                                   Power & Utilities: Gas Utility and Metering

Geography:                                           UK

Sponsor:                                                Macquarie

Website:                                                 www.nationalgas.com

Date of commitment:                             28.03.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £47m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Stable inflationlinked cash flows with returns positively correlated to inflation, supported by tailwinds of the current macroeconomic environment.

·    Strong downside protection; regulatory framework allows for the recovery of costs and a minimum return on capital. The company also holds a monopolistic position through sole ownership of the UK's gas transmission network.

·    Significant growth opportunity. The transmission system will play a leading role in making the network ready for any future transition from natural gas to hydrogen. It will support the expansion of hydrogen's role in the energy mix while working closely with the government and Ofgem to maintain security of supply.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Vertical Bridge

The largest private owner and operator of towers and other wireless infrastructure in the US, with more than 7,000 owned towers across the country.

 

Sector:                                                    Digital: Towers

Geography:                                            North America

Sponsor:                                                 DigitalBridge

Website:                                                 www.verticalbridge.com

Date of commitment:                             04.04.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £27m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Track record of organic and inorganic growth: since its founding in 2014, Vertical Bridge has been one of the most active acquirers and 'buildtosuit' developers amongst tower companies, and expects to further accelerate these activities.

·    5G build-out supporting continued growth: US carrier annual capex is forecast to increase by over 30% by 2025, prioritising macro towers in the 5G rollout.

·    Toptier management team and Sponsor: key members of Vertical Bridge and DigitalBridge (including both CEOs) have worked together since 2003, and have exceeded the original Vertical Bridge business plan.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Delta Fiber

Owner and operator of fixed telecom infrastructure in the Netherlands, providing broadband, TV, telephone and mobile services to retail and wholesale customers over a predominantly fibre network.

 

Sector:                                                   Digital: Fibre

Geography:                                           Europe

Sponsor:                                                Stonepeak

Website:                                                 www.deltafibernederland.nl

Date of commitment:                             26.04.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £25m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Opportunity to invest in high-quality fibre network with high barriers to entry as a regional leader in its core footprint of suburban and rural areas with historically high penetration and low churn rates.

·    Well positioned to capitalise on extensive rollout programme via first mover advantage in its core markets, exhibited through its track record of fast build rates and ramp up of construction capacity.

 

 

 

POWER & UTILITIES

Cartier Energy

Platform of eight district energy systems located across the Northeast, MidAtlantic and Midwest of the US.

 

Sector:                                                   Power & Utilities: District Heating

Geography:                                           North America

Sponsor:                                                Vauban

Website:                                                 Not available

Date of commitment:                             23.05.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £31m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Gross margin structure underpinned by availabilitybased fixed capacity payments and consumption charges, and passthrough pricing mechanism limits commodity price exposure providing robust downside protection.

·    'Sticky' customer base with an average relationship tenure of ~1520 years and ~1012-year average remaining contractual life.

·    Provides customers with a path to decarbonisation and increased thermal efficiency.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

 

 

 

POWER & UTILITIES

Calpine

Independent power producer with c.26GW of principally gas-fired generating capacity, including c.770MW of operational renewables.

 

Sector:                                                   Power & Utilities: Electricity Generation

Geography:                                           North America

Sponsor:                                                ECP

Website:                                                 www.calpine.com

Date of commitment:                             27.06.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £56m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Vital supplier to the US electricity grid, providing reliable power generation capacity and playing an important role in the energy transition as the US targets net zero carbon by 2050. Calpine benefits from highly predictable diversified cash flows underpinned by contracts supported by a robust hedging programme.

·    Strong renewables development pipeline of solar and battery storage projects, financeable through the cash flows generated by existing assets, which are projected to nearly triple its renewables power generation capacity over the next five to six years.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Vantage Data Centers

Leading provider of wholesale data centre infrastructure to large enterprises and hyperscale cloud providers.

 

Sector:                                                   Digital: Data Centre

Geography:                                           North America

Sponsor:                                                DigitalBridge

Website:                                                 www.vantage-dc.com

Date of commitment:                             01.07.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £26m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Secular data usage growth through increasing cloud adoption and increasing dataheavy technologies continues to drive data centre demand.

·    Strong growth pipeline from favourable existing relationships with hyperscale customers.

·    Downside protection from strong position in supplyconstrained core geographies, longterm contracts with investmentgrade counterparties, and low churn due to high switching costs and barriers to entry.

 

 

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Fudura

Dutch market-leading owner and provider of mediumvoltage electricity infrastructure to business customers, with a focus on transformers, metering devices and related data services.

 

Sector:                                                   Renewables & Energy Efficiency

Geography:                                           Europe

Sponsor:                                                DIF

Website:                                                 www.fudura.nl

Date of commitment:                             25.07.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £46m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Highly stable inflationlinked cash flows from large and diversified lockedin customer base with long-term contracts, low churn and inflation protection.

·    Strong downside protection with a quasimonopoly positioning in its core regional markets characterised by high barriers to entry.

·    Energy efficiency and decarbonisation tailwinds driving growth opportunities to broaden service offering to customers including EV charging, solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

National Broadband Ireland ("NBI")

Fibre-to-the-premises network developer and operator working with the Irish Government to support the rollout of the National Broadband Plan, targeting connection to 560,000 rural homes.

 

Sector:                                                   Digital: Fibre

Geography:                                           Ireland

Sponsor:                                                Asterion

Website:                                                 www.nbi.ie

Date of commitment:                             09.11.2022

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £47m

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Stable cash flows with inflation protection expected through the terms of the project agreement and the prices NBI can charge to internet service providers for access.

·    Downside protection through a unique positioning in the intervention area (the franchise area granted by the Irish Government) and a flexible government subsidy regime.

·    Attractive macro trends including increased remote working, demographics and growth in fibre broadband takeup to date underpin the longterm commercial viability of the network.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

 

 

 

PINT INVESTMENTS

NEW INVESTMENTS

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

GD Towers

Largest tower operator and telecom infrastructure network in Western Europe with c.40,000 tower sites across Germany and Austria.

 

Sector:                                                   Digital: Towers

Geography:                                           Europe

Sponsor:                                                DigitalBridge

Website:                                                 Not available

Date of commitment:                             31.01.2023

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £38m

 

Transaction/company overview

·    In Q3 2022, DigitalBridge, alongside Brookfield Asset Management, agreed to buy 51% of GD Towers from Deutsche Telekom for a total enterprise value of €17.5 billion, with PINT investing as part of the subsequent co-investment syndication process.

·    GD Towers has one of the largest tower and telecom infrastructure networks in Western Europe with c.40,000 tower sites across Germany and Austria, making it the market leader in Germany and second largest in Austria.

·    GD Towers' high-quality portfolio is supported by an anchor tenancy agreement with Deutsche Telekom, which has retained a 49% ownership stake in GD Towers.

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Majority of cash flows are contracted and index-linked, offering strong downside protection in challenging macroeconomic conditions.

·    Favourable market tailwinds from regulatorydriven 5G coverage requirements with significant growth opportunities.

·    Organic and inorganic growth opportunities arising from other market participants, and numerous consolidation opportunities in Europe.

 

ESG2

·    Deutsche Telekom AG has a net zero carbon strategy that is aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has been highly rated by the Carbon Disclosure Project.

·    The majority of power for the tower sites now comes from renewable sources, with carbon offsetting arrangements in place for any fossil fuel power consumption.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

2. Source: ERM. While DigitalBridge may consider ESG factors when making an investment decision, DigitalBridge does not pursue an ESG-based investment strategy or limit its investments to those that meet specific ESG criteria or standards. Any reference herein to environmental or social considerations is not intended to qualify DigitalBridge's duty to maximise risk-adjusted returns.

 

 

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

GlobalConnect

Leading pan-Nordic wholesale and retail telecoms business with extensive fibre network and data centre portfolio.

 

Sector:                                                   Digital: Fibre

Geography:                                           Europe

Sponsor:                                                EQT

Website:                                                 https://www.globalconnectgroup.com

Date of commitment:                             22.06.2023

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £20m

 

Transaction/company overview

·    In Q4 2022, EQT Infrastructure III announced the sale of a minority stake (15%) of its shareholding in GlobalConnect (GC) to Mubadala. PINT invested alongside other coinvestors following this transaction, while EQT retained a majority (controlling) stake.

·    GC is a pan-Nordic digital infrastructure platform with a 155,000 km fibre network and 17 (35,000 m²) data centres.

·    GC is a leading challenger and is well positioned to increase its market share across verticals and geographies given its bluechip customer base, one-stop-shop solution and high barriers to entry.

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Majority of cash flows are contracted and indexlinked, offering downside protection in challenging macroeconomic conditions.

·    Favourable market tailwinds from regulatory-driven 5G coverage requirements with significant growth opportunities and longterm secured revenues, protecting its market position.

·    Organic and inorganic growth opportunities arising from rural fibre rollout, growing demand for larger bandwidth and numerous consolidation opportunities.

 

ESG

·    In June 2023, GC was approved by the SBTi, committing to reducing its absolute carbon emissions by 42% by 2030.

·    In 2022, GC raised €1 billion in ESG-linked financing and recently won an award for the sustainability-linked loan of the year in Europe.

·    Its sustainable data centres, powered by 100% green energy, are achieving ~25% lower power usage than the European average.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

 

 

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Zenobē

Zenobē provides essential infrastructure that contributes to international power and transport sector decarbonisation targets.

 

Sector:                                                   Renewables & Energy Efficiency

Geography:                                           UK

Sponsor:                                                Infracapital

Website:                                                 www.Zenobe.com

Date of commitment:                             07.09.2023

PINT NAV 31 December 2023:              £33m

 

Transaction/company overview

·    Co-investment alongside Infracapital in their 2023 equity raise to support Zenobē's business plan growth. Infracapital retained a co-control stake alongside a new investor (KKR), forming a strategic partnership to support Zenobē's expansion into North America, Europe and Australasia.

·    Zenobē develops, finances, owns and operates electric buses and transmission grid-scale batteries, providing turnkey service offerings to its customers.

·    Since Infracapital's initial investment in 2020, Zenobē has grown to establish itself as a market leader at the forefront of these increasingly important industries in UK, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand.

 

Investment thesis and value creation strategy1

·    Substantial and growing market opportunity driven by significant capex required to meet demand for EV charging and electricity grid stability.

·    Market leader in core regions in a high-growth sector with attractive expansion opportunities.

·    Downside protection and inflation protection via longterm availability-style contracts with high-quality counterparties.

 

ESG2

·    In addition to providing electrification solutions for vehicle fleet owners, Zenobē's batteries help balance the supply of renewable energy to the grid.

·    By financing, designing, building and operating battery systems, Zenobē is accelerating the switch to electric vehicles and maximising the uptake of renewable energy.

·    Zenobē has committed to net zero value chain carbon emissions by 2050 and was awarded the IJGlobal ESG Award for Europe 2023.

 

1. There is no guarantee that the investment thesis will be achieved. Pantheon opinion. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future results are not guaranteed, and loss of principal may occur. Please refer to the slide titled 'Disclosure 1 - Investments' towards the back of this announcement.

2. Source: Infracapital and Zenobē. The information herein has been compiled by Pantheon based on information supplied to it by Infracapital and Zenobē. For the avoidance of doubt, Pantheon is not acting on behalf of Infracapital in communicating any information set out herein.

 

 

PINT TIMELINE

 

November 2021

Raised £400m gross IPO proceeds

 

March 2022

Commitment of to $47.6m Primafrio - European transport & logistics business

Commitment of $32.3m to CyrusOne - North American data centre business

Commitment of £39.6m to National Gas - UK regulated gas transmission network and metering business

 

April 2022

Commitment of €28.4m to Delta Fiber - Dutch fibre company

Commitment of $30.2m to Vertical Bridge - US towers company

 

May 2022

Commitment of $41.4m to Cartier Energy - US district energy platform

 

June 2022

Commitment of $55.4m to Calpine - US power generation business

 

July 2022

Commitment of $33.2m to Vantage Data Centers - North American data centre business

Commitment of €47.0m to Fudura - Dutch electricity infrastructure provider

 

September 2022

Raised £81m of gross proceeds through exercise of subscriptions shares

 

October 2022

Paid first interim dividend of 1p per share

 

November 2022

Commitment of €52.7m to National Broadband Ireland - Irish digital Infrastructure company

 

January 2023

Commitment of €47.2m to GD Towers - German and Austrian towers company

 

March 2023

Paid second interim dividend of 1p per share

Board announces £10m share buyback programme

 

June 2023

Agreed £52.5m increase to RCF, bringing total to £115m

Commitment of €22.0m to GlobalConnect - Nordic fibre networks company

 

September 2023

Commitment of £35m to Zenobē - UK battery storage and electric bus fleet specialist

Declared first interim dividend for 2023 of 2p per share, paid on 27 October 2023

 

November 2023

PINT hosts maiden capital markets day

 

March 2024

Agreed extension to existing £115m RCF, resetting maturity to March 2027

Declared second interim dividend for 2023 of 2p per share, payable on 23 April 2024

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT

 

Founded in 1982, Pantheon has established itself as a leading global multistrategy investor in private equity, infrastructure and real assets, private debt and real estate.

 

Pantheon's infrastructure experience

Since 2009, Pantheon has completed 218 infrastructure investments across primaries, secondaries and coinvestments alongside more than 58 asset sourcing partners, solidifying its position as one of the largest managers investing in infrastructure. Total infrastructure co-investment and Sponsor relationships exceeded 50 as of December 2023, including investments closed or in legal closing. The global infrastructure investment team managed c. $22 billion in AUM as at 30 September 2023.

 

Pantheon platform

128

Investment professionals

 

$95bn1

Funds under management

 

>1,000

Institutional investors globally

 

13

Global offices

 

Pantheon private infrastructure

$22bn1

AUM

 

218

Investments

 

33

Investment professionals

 

22 years

Average years' experience of Investment Committee

 

Pantheon private infrastructure co-investments

$4bn

Total commitments

 

52

Total investments

 

58+

Asset sourcing partners

 

13.2%

Notional net IRR2

 

1. As at 30 September 2023. This figure includes assets subject to discretionary or non-discretionary management or advice. Infrastructure AUM includes all infrastructure and real asset programmes which have an allocation to natural resources.

2. Performance data as of 30 September 2023. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Future performance is not guaranteed and a loss of principal may occur. Performance data includes all infrastructure coinvestments approved by Pantheon's Global Infrastructure and Real Assets Committee (GIRAC) since 2015, when Pantheon established its infrastructure co-investment strategy. Notional net performance is based on an average forecast annualised fee of 1.5% of NAV.

 

Pantheon has extensive experience of and expertise in primary, secondary and co-investments, which are defined as follows:

·     primary investments: involve a commitment to a newly launched limited life fund managed by a Sponsor, seeking to exit improved businesses in the later years of the fund term at a profit;

·     secondary investments: traditionally involve the purchase of an interest in an established private fund or a portfolio of companies from an existing investor; and

·     co-investments: afford the opportunity for investors to invest alongside Sponsors in specific Portfolio Companies, typically on a fee and carried interestfree basis.

 

PINT focuses on gaining exposure to infrastructure assets via coinvestments.

 

Pantheon primary funds strategy

AUM in primary commitments since 20091

$10bn

 

·    Pantheon develops longterm relationships with top tier Sponsors by investing in their underlying flagship funds.

·    Sponsors consider Pantheon to be a strategic partner, rather than a direct competitor.

 

Sponsors require coinvestment partner

Coinvestment opportunities screened since 20152

$88bn

 

Sponsors may offer coinvestments for the following reasons:

·     size of transaction;

·     manage concentration limits;

·     raise followon capital; and

·     strengthen investor relationships.

 

Pantheon coinvestment strategy

Committed across 52 coinvestment assets

$4bn

Committed across 52 coinvestment assets3

 

·     Access to coinvestment assets, typically on a no-fee, nocarry basis.

·     Proven track record as a valuable partner by providing experience in complex deals; speed and certainty of deal execution within short time frames.

·     Co-investment track record has produced notional net IRR to date of 13.2%4.

 

1. As at 30 September 2023. This figure includes assets subject to discretionary or non-discretionary management or advice. Infrastructure AUM includes all infrastructure and real asset programmes which have an allocation to natural resources.

2. Pantheon internal data from 2015 to December 2023. Screened deal flow is based on total value of transactions ($).

3. Total infrastructure co-investment count and committed amount as of December 2023, includes all Pantheon infrastructure co-investments closed or in legal closing.

4. Performance data as of 30 September 2023. Performance data includes all consummated infrastructure co-investments approved by GIRAC since 2015, when Pantheon established its infrastructure co-investment strategy.

 

 

PORTFOLIO

PINT is constructing a diversified global portfolio with a focus on developed market OECD countries, with the majority of exposure in Western Europe and North America. Over the medium term, the Investment Manager expects, in line with the initial prospectus, the composition of the Portfolio to include investments in the following subsectors: Digital Infrastructure, Power & Utilities, Transport & Logistics, Renewables & Energy Efficiency and Social & Other Infrastructure.

 

In the year to 31 December 2023, the Company announced three further investments, amounting to £96 million, with a total of £487 million now invested or committed across 13 investments.

 

The Portfolio assembled is diversified across sectors and geographies, and the Investment Manager believes that it is well positioned to withstand any external market challenges. The investments typically benefit from defensive characteristics including long-term contracted cash flows, inflation protection and robust capital structures.

 

Seven investments are in Digital Infrastructure, representing 44% of NAV, across the data centre, towers and fibre subsectors. Three investments, representing 27%, are in the Power & Utilities sector including: gas transmission, district heating and electricity generation. Two investments are in Renewables & Energy Efficiency (17%) and the remaining investment is in Transport & Logistics (9%). The largest geographical exposure is in Europe (46%), with the remaining exposure in North America (34%) and the UK (17%). Net working capital reflects 3% of NAV.

 

 

NAV pence per share movement (Year to 31 December 2023)

NAV increased over the year by 7.7p per share (period to 31 December 2022: 0.9p per share), after adjusting for the dividends paid of 3.0p per share over the year (period to 31 December 2022: 1.0p per share). The movement in the year was principally driven by fair value gains of 12.0p per share (period to 31 December 2022: 2.0p per share), partially offset by foreign exchange movements of (3.0)p per share (period to 31 December 2022: 2.1p per share), attributable to the weakening of both EUR and USD during the year, which was partially offset by a 2.6p per share movement from the foreign exchange hedging programme (period to 31 December 2022: (1.8)p per share). Interest on cash deposits contributed 0.7p per share (period to 31 December 2022: 0.4p per share), and share buybacks contributed 0.3p per share (period to 31 December 2022: nil), with a reduction of (1.9)p per share (period to 31 December 2022: (1.0)p per share) related to fund operating and financing expenses, resulting in a closing NAV of 106.6p per share. This excludes the impact of the second interim dividend of 2.0p per share, which is to be paid on 23 April 2024.

 

 

Nav Pence Per Share Movement

31 December 2022 - 98.9p

Fair value gains - 12.0p

Foreign exchange movement - (3.0)p

Foreign exchange hedge - 2.6p

Finance income - 0.7p

Expenses1 - (1.9)p

Share buybacks - 0.3p

Dividends paid (3.0)p

31 December 2023 - 106.6p

 

1. Expenses include operating and capital expenses.

 

 

PORTFOLIO IN NUMBERS1

 

Exposure to operational infrastructure assets

POWER & UTILITIES

26GW

of electric generation capacity, including 729MW of renewables, generating 111TWh annually

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

67,000

smart meters helping to reduce domestic energy bills

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

1,444,000

homes connected to high speed fibre

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

94

data centres providing 1,440MW of power capacity

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

1,000

electric buses supported, saving 66,000 tonnes of CO2 annually

 

POWER & UTILITIES

8

district heating networks, with 96 km of piping serving 190 buildings

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

17,200

medium and high voltage transformers

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

416,000 km

of fibre cable, passing 2.9 million homes

 

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

2,500

temperature controlled trucks and 40,000 m² of temperature controlled warehouse capacity

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

51,000

telecom towers

 

POWER & UTILITIES

7,630 km

of pressurised gas transmission pipes, 71 gas compressors and nine gas and LNG terminals

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

1,494MW

of battery energy storage capacity, supporting the transition to net zero

 

1. Figures represent the total infrastructure assets across PINT's Portfolio Companies.

 

The breakdown of the Company's NAV1 as at 31 December 2023 is shown below by reference to sector and geography. The breakdowns are shown relative to amounts invested2 and committed3.

 

Sector diversification (as at 31 December 2023)4

Outer ring: total (invested2 + committed3)
Inner ring: invested and committed breakdown

 

 

Digital Infrastructure | 43.9%

  Invested | 41.8%

  Committed | 2.1%

Power & Utilities | 26.7%

  Invested | 26.7%

  Committed | 0.0%

Renewables & Energy Efficiency | 16.6%

  Invested | 15.7%

  Committed | 0.9%

Transport & Logistics | 9.4%

  Invested | 9.3%

  Committed | 0.1%

Net Working Capital | 3.3%

 

Geographic diversification (as at 31 December 2023)4

Outer ring: total (invested + committed)
Inner ring: invested2 and committed3 breakdown

 

Europe | 46.1%

  Invested | 44.4%

  Committed | 1.8%

North America | 34.0%

  Invested | 33.2%

  Committed | 0.8%

UK | 16.6%

  Invested | 16.0%

  Committed | 0.6%

Net Working Capital | 3.3%

 

1. Based on NAV of £504 million at 31 December 2023.

2. Invested amounts at 31 December 2023 totalled £471.7 million, representing the fair value of the Company's funded investments in those sectors or geographies.

3. Committed but not yet invested amounts at 31 December 2023 totalled £15.7 million, representing cash held in respect of as yet undrawn commitments and/or deals in legal closing in those sectors or geographies. Undrawn commitments are a feature of the Company's investments and occur when completions are deferred due to commercial or regulatory approval processes, or where capital calls are intentionally staggered over time for follow-on purposes, for example for capex or M&A requirements.

4. Charts do not add up to 100.0% due to rounding.

 

13.6%

Weighted average discount rate

Weighted average discount rate of 13.6% is based on the discount rate of each Portfolio Company investment at 31 December 2023, weighted on an investment fair value basis (excluding undrawn commitments) across all 13 investments.

 

36%

Weighted average gearing

Weighted average gearing calculated by reference to the ratio of net debt to enterprise value of each Portfolio Company, weighted across all 13 investments.

 

77%

Weighted average hedged debt

Weighted average hedged debt calculated by reference to ratio of hedged debt relative to net debt of each Portfolio Company.

 

£60m

Weighted average EBITDA

Weighted average EBITDA is based on the annual EBITDA of each Portfolio Company at 31 December 2023, weighted by PINT's ownership of underlying Portfolio Companies and converted to GBP as necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

Portfolio value 31 December

 

 

 Asset  valuation

FX

Portfolio value 31 December

Undrawn commitments 31 December

Allocation of foreign exchange hedge

Portfolio total return for the

 

 

 

2022

Drawn

Distributions

movement

movement

2023

2023

movements

 year

Asset

Region

Sponsor

(£m)

(£m)

(£m)

(£m)

(£m)

(£m)

(£m)

Primafrio

Europe

Apollo

40.4

0.1

-

7.5

(1.0)

47.0

0.5

1.0

7.5

CyrusOne

North America

KKR

22.8

-

-

5.2

(1.4)

26.6

3.8

1.2

5.0

National Gas

UK

Macquarie

-

40.8

-

6.6

-

47.4

-

-

6.6

Vertical Bridge

North America

DigitalBridge

27.0

-

-

1.9

(1.6)

27.3

-

1.4

1.7

Delta Fiber

Europe

Stonepeak

23.0

-

-

3.2

(1.4)

24.8

1.5

-

1.8

Cartier Energy

North America

Vauban

34.8

-

-

(1.5)

(2.0)

31.3

-

1.7

(1.8)

Calpine

North America

ECP

47.0

-

(9.0)

21.0

(3.1)

55.9

-

2.8

20.7

Vantage Data Centers

North America

DigitalBridge

22.3

5.4

-

-

(1.4)

26.3

-

1.3

(0.1)

Fudura

Europe

DIF

41.3

-

-

5.9

(1.0)

46.2

1.6

1.0

5.9

National Broadband Ireland

Europe

       Asterion

42.8

1.0

-

4.6

(1.0)

47.4

2.9

1.1

4.7

GD Towers

Europe

DigitalBridge

-

39.3

(1.0)

0.6

(0.9)

38.0

2.5

0.6

0.3

GlobalConnect

Europe

EQT

-

19.0

-

1.1

0.2

20.3

-

-

1.3

Zenobē

UK

Infracapital

32.1

-

1.1

-

2.9

-

1.1

Grand Total

 

 

 301.4

 137.7

(10.0)

57.2

(14.6)

 471.7

 15.7

 12.1

 54.7

 

Key:

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

POWER & UTILITIES

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

 

 

ASSET UPDATES

 

PRIMAFRIO

Primafrio performed resilliently despite a challenging trading environment. With a backdrop of flat volumes arising from a weak macroeconomic environment in key European markets, the company has been able to continually grow revenue through increasing market share and expanding into new markets with new and existing clients. Whilst margins have recently been impacted by high cost inflation and fuel costs, the Company's valuation has benefitted from strong downside protection afforded to Apollo and its co-investors within the transaction structure.

 

CYRUSONE

CyrusOne recovered initial capex backlogs and earnings for the year were in line with the original investment case. The company entered into a joint venture with Kansai Electric Power Company during the period, which is expected to unlock significant opportunities in the Asian market, and AIbased computing is expected to provide significant further tailwinds.

 

NATIONAL GAS

National Gas experienced no material deviations from the original investment case, with the operation of the existing regulated asset base on track. The National Infrastructure Commission gave its backing to a longterm backbone hydrogen network to aid the decarbonisation of heavy industry. Furthermore, the government confirmed its strategy to seek hydrogen blending up to 20% across the existing network, following similar moves on the continent. The recent successful pilot project to run 100% hydrogen in repurposed gas transmission assets was a world first and an important step in support of hydrogen blending across the network. Stakeholders are working towards the first blending to align with the start of scalable hydrogen production in 2026.

 

VERTICAL BRIDGE

Vertical Bridge shifted priorities to its build-to-suit (BTS) business given an unfavourable market for tower portfolio acquisitions. The most notable development to date is a joint venture announced with Verizon for up to 3,000 BTS developments. The company still sees some delays to rollout due to carriers deferring capex spend given recent macroeconomic headwinds, but longer term rollout of increased coverage is not in doubt given 5G coverage requirements. Furthermore, there have been some recent positive signals in the M&A market for acquiring existing tower portfolios, with a number of transactions closing in the period and an executable pipeline emerging for 2024, which is now more in line with the original investment case after a cooling off since late 2022.

 

DELTA FIBER

Delta Fiber's rollout is progressing on plan and it expects to have completed activities by mid-2025 on budget. Retail fibre adoption is tracking near to plan with no changes to long-term penetration assumptions, and the company is seeking to replicate a recently announced wholesale network sharing agreement with Odido (formerly T-Mobile Netherlands) with other internet service providers.

 

CARTIER ENERGY

Cartier Energy had a challenging year after facing a number of issues including the imperfect pass-through of energy costs, materially lower volumes due to significant seasonality shifts, and the loss of a key customer due to financial challenges. However, the business is actively working on converting its pipeline of shorter-term "fill-in" opportunities as well as some capex initiatives which were identified in the original investment case.

 

CALPINE

Calpine continues to outperform its original investment case due to materially higher short and medium-term profitability arising from sustained higher spark spreads in its key markets. The company continues to mitigate its exposure to near-term energy prices through proactive hedging activities which lock in short-term profitability. Construction also commenced on its flagship Nova battery storage project, as well as additional capex deployment into both its existing renewables fleet and new renewables opportunities. The company was also awarded federal funding support for two carbon capture and sequestration projects.

 

VANTAGE DATA CENTERS

Vantage Data Centers sees increased opportunity relative to the original investment case, principally due to increased cloud and AI computing demands, for which a significant additional primary equity commitment was secured in Q4 2023 from both Digital Bridge and technology focused private equity investor Silver Lake. The company continues to effectively navigate supply chain and grid capacity challenges.

 

FUDURA

Fudura has outperformed its original investment case since entry. Higher profit margins have resulted from undertaking higher complexity and higher margin projects, and revenues from its ancillary growth initiatives, including EV charging, solar and batteries, are now ramping up.

 

NATIONAL BROADBAND IRELAND

National Broadband Ireland remains on track with its rollout plan, which continues to stay on budget. Final rollout is ahead of the revised contractual targets that were set to address the impact of Covid-19 and the main deployment is expected to be largely completed by the end of 2026. A large number of internet service providers are now signed up, which in turn is supporting adoption by end users greater than foreseen in the original investment case, with the resulting revenues supporting the company's profitability and liquidity during construction.

 

GD TOWERS

GD Towers enjoyed good progress during the year, with revenues and profits coming in largely on track with the original investment case. The business has been focused on implementing several immediate and significant organisational changes geared towards delivering process efficiencies in its BTS programme. Along with other efficiency programmes being explored, the company anticipates several areas of potential outperformance to the investment case, but until Q1 2024 will continue to be valued at cost.

 

GLOBALCONNECT

GlobalConnect's management remain focused on ensuring the optimal allocation of capital given the varied markets it operates in, which has resulted in a recent re-emphasis back towards its core market of fibre-to-the-home opportunities in the Nordics. The company also reached an important milestone with more than one million homes passed.

 

ZENOBĒ

Zenobē has been busy since PINT's investment was made in Q4 2023, with further project financing secured for strategically important greenfield battery projects in Scotland as part of the £750 million rollout commitment in Scotland by 2026, as well as the announcement of an all-electric fleet replacement for Oxfordshire County Council.

 

Portfolio movement

During the year, the Portfolio generated underlying growth of £57.2 million, reflecting a 13.0% movement on the opening capital invested, adjusted for capital calls and investments, but before adjusting for distributions totalling £10.0 million. Movements in foreign currencies resulted in a foreign exchange loss of £14.6 million (offset at a company level by a foreign exchange hedging gain of £12.1 million), resulting in a closing value of £471.7 million at 31 December 2023.

 

The Portfolio had a weighted average discount rate (WADR) of 13.6%1 at the year end (31 December 2022: 14.2%).

 

1.     WADR of 13.6% is based on the discount rate or implied discount rate of each completed investment at 31 December 2023, weighted on an investment fair value basis (excluding undrawn commitments).

 

Portfolio movement (£million)

Portfolio value 31 December 2022 - 301.4

Capital calls and investments - 137.7

Distributions - (10.0)

Asset valuation movement - 57.2

Foreign exchange movement - (14.6)

Portfolio value 31 December 2023 - 471.7

 

 

Outlook

The Investment Manager remains confident about the prospects of the Portfolio going forward. The tailwinds that support the demand for new infrastructure, and the growth opportunities that accompany it, remain strong across all the sub-sectors in which the Company is active.

 

From a valuation perspective, the Investment Manager has seen limited evidence of any material downward trends across the core-plus infrastructure universe. The consensus amongst Sponsors that the Investment Manager works with is that the full extent of discount rate increases attributable to the increased interest rate environment have now flowed through to valuations. The volume of remaining dry-powder in the sector, coupled with a recovery in private markets fundraising since H1 2023, and the core-plus nature of the Company's assets, continue to support a constructive valuation environment.

 

Furthermore the Investment Manager continues to see sustained transactional evidence of realised premiums to holding valuations at exit, which adds in further long-term headroom and potential for outperformance. Specifically, there continues to be increased appetite for assets with some a high degree of inflation linkage and those that play a direct role in the energy transition.

 

 

Portfolio cash flows

Over the medium term, the Company expects the Portfolio to generate cash flows both through distributions from its investments and from investment exits, the latter becoming realised in cash in due course through asset disposals. In turn, these cash flows are expected to support both the reinvestment of capital and a progressive dividend policy.

 

The Company's investment approach is to invest in assets with an expected hold period that is typically, but not always, 5-7 years, after which it is expected to realise value by exiting positions according to the relevant Sponsor's time horizon. Whilst the Company does expect some of its investments to make distributions, cash generation through this approach is expected to be heavily weighted towards the receipt of sale proceeds at the point of investment exit, and in some cases no distributions are forecast.

 

The Company maintains a long-term forecast of both sources of cash flow, which is derived from either investment base case expectations or Sponsor updates where available. The latest projection of the Company's cash flows from the Portfolio is summarised opposite, as at 31 December 2023.

 

The projection is based on existing investments only and does not factor in any potential for re-investment of capital after realisations, which accordingly accounts for the downward trend of distributions after realisations occur.

 

Whilst these projections are intended to present a plausible long-term expectation of the current Portfolio's cash flow generation, there is no guarantee around the quantum or timing of distributions or realisations, which remain dependent on multiple factors including underlying asset performance, exit timing, and long-term FX rate assumptions. Accordingly they should not be considered as guidance around financial performance.

 

For a Projected Portfolio cash flows chart, please see page 31 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

H2 2023 dividend

At IPO, the Company said it would target a NAV Total Return of 8-10% p.a. following full investment of the IPO proceeds, and an initial dividend of at least 2p per share for the first financial period ended 31 December 2022, rising to 4p per share for the year ended 31 December 2023, and a progressive dividend thereafter. In line with this, the Board recently declared the Company's second interim dividend of 2p per share in respect of the year ended 31 December 2023, which is due to be paid on 23 April 2024. This is in line with the IPO target.

 

Dividend cover

The Company has devised a measure to assess dividend coverage by calculating the ratio of net cash flow to dividends declared in respect of a given period. This is calculated across the whole group, including the Company's subsidiary, Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings LP (PIH LP), through which the Company holds the majority of its investments. Net cash flow for this purpose is calculated as income (the sum of all income and capital distributions that are not related to asset disposals, plus deposit interest income) plus disposal profits (realised profits on disposal, or disposal proceeds less original investment cost), less operating and financing expenses incurred during the same period.

 

On this basis, the Company's dividend cover for 2022 and 2023 was 0.2x as detailed below. As set out in the previous exhibit of cash flows, the Company expects material progression in cash flows from the Portfolio, which in turn is expected to flow through to improved dividend coverage.

 

£m

2022

2023

Income

6.1

13.1

Disposal profits

-

-

Operating costs

(4.6)

(6.6)

Financing costs

(0.0)

(1.5)

Net cash flow for dividend cover

1.5

4.9

Dividend declared

9.6

18.9

Dividend cover

0.2x

0.3x

Cumulative dividend cover

0.2x

0.2x

 

Borrowings

In June 2023, the Company agreed a £52.5 million increase to its existing £62.5 million three-year multi-currency RCF, bringing the total to £115.0 million. As part of the increase, the Company sought to diversify the lender group, with the introduction of RBS International (RBSI), alongside Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc ('Lloyds').

 

After the period end, the Company extended the term of the RCF by 15 months, effectively resetting the tenor at three years with the same pricing and terms. The enlarged and extended RCF allows the Company to maintain liquidity for unfunded commitments and working capital requirements whilst minimising the inefficiencies of holding excessive cash. The RCF, which is secured on the assets of the Company, includes an uncommitted accordion feature, which will be accessible, subject to approval, by additional lenders, and is intended to increase over time in line with the Company's NAV progression.

 

Share buybacks

As at 31 December 2023, the Company had deployed £5.8‌ million in buying back 7.4 million of its own shares, and subsequent to the year end, spent a further £2.6 million in buying back 3.1 million shares. Reacquired shares are held in treasury and may be subsequently re-issued if the Company's shares return to trading at a premium to NAV. At the year end the Company continued to make allowance for the remaining £4.2 million of the £10 million originally allocated to share buybacks, as part of its liquidity management as detailed on the analysis presented below.

 

The Board continues to regularly assess the Company's optimal approach to capital allocation in light of its forecast cash flows, dividend target and expectations of dividend cover, and as detailed in the Chair's statement, has allocated an additional £8.4 million for share buybacks.

 

Cash and liquidity management

At the year end, the Company had total available liquidity of £144.4 million (31 December 2022: £245.4 million), comprising £29.4 million of cash (31 December 2022: £182.9 million) and £115.0 million (31 December 2022: £62.5 million) of undrawn RCF.

 

The Company maintains a policy to hold liquidity sufficient to cover all investment commitments, including for share buybacks, due in the next twelve months. At the year end, this amount totalled £20.0 million.

 

In addition to this, the Company has adopted a risk-based policy to hold specific cash buffers in respect of potential further liquidity requirements. These buffers include forecast operating costs, dividend payments, FX hedge settlements due (based on mark-to-market valuations), an allowance for emergency co-investment capital across the Portfolio, allowances for FX movements on undrawn nonGBP commitments, and amounts held against potential movements in the Company's FX hedging positions (calculated relative to notional amounts and contractual maturity). At the year end, these amounts totalled £79.9 million.

 

The net balance after taking account of all these considerations represents the funds available to the Company for further investment. As at the year end, this stood at £44.5 million (31 December 2022: £72.0 million).

 

 

£m1

Sources

 

Cash & equivalents

29.4

RCF

115.0

Total (A)

144.4

Commitments

 

Undrawn investment commitments

15.7

Share buybacks

4.2

Total (B)

20.0

Buffers

 

Operating costs

8.5

Dividends

18.8

Co-investment buffer

22.1

FX buffers on undrawn investment commitments

2.4

FX hedging buffer (see below)

28.2

Total (C)

79.9

Available funds (= A - B - C)

44.5

 

1.     Totals do not match due to rounding.

 

Ongoing charges

The Company's ongoing charges figure is calculated in accordance with the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) recommended methodology and was 1.35% for the year to 31 December 2023 (period to 31 December 2022: 1.02%). The ongoing charges were lower in the period to 31 December 2022 as no management fee was paid on undeployed cash until 75% of the net issue proceeds were deployed, which was achieved in the quarter to 30 September 2022.

 

Foreign exchange impact

In order to limit the potential impact from material movements in major foreign exchange rates on nonlocal currency investments, the Company has put in place a foreign exchange hedging programme. The aim of this programme is to reduce (rather than eliminate) the impact of movements in foreign exchange rates on the Company's NAV, and to this end the Company has an internal policy to seek to limit its unhedged exposure to 25% of NAV at any time. Hedging is achieved through the execution of foreign exchange hedging contracts relative to the ongoing non-local currency investment exposure. This is subject to, inter alia, market liquidity and pricing for hedges, foreign exchange volatilities, the composition of the Company's portfolio and the Company's balance sheet.

 

The Company has entered into arrangements with six hedging counterparties, all on an unsecured basis and subject only to margin calls if pre-specified credit limits are breached on an individual counterparty (not aggregate) basis. Furthermore, in line with the Investment Manager's risk policies, the Company has adopted a policy to maintain strict liquidity buffers in relation to these hedging positions to protect against extreme volatilitydriven margin requirements. Details of the Company's hedging positions and associated cash buffers are set out in the table opposite.

 

The depreciation of USD and EUR resulted in a negative foreign exchange movement in the year to 31 December 2023 of (£14.6) million (period to 31 December 2022, gain of £9.9 million), which was partially offset by a gain on the hedging programme of £12.1 million (period to 31 December 2022, loss of £8.5 million).

 

For a chart of Foreign exchange hedging - NAV impact (price per share) please see page 34 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

 

EUR notional

USD notional

Mark-to-market

Buffer

Counterparty

(€m)

($m)

(£m)

(£m)

A

-

76.1

(0.1)

8.4

B

-

36.2

(0.4)

3.4

C

45.3

12.4

1.1

-

D

23.7

8.8

0.7

2.1

E

76.4

24.5

1.4

6.6

F

53.8

55.8

1.3

7.7

Total

119.2

213.8

3.9

28.2

 

 

ASSUMPTIONS AND SENSITIVITIES

Introduction

The Portfolio valuation is the largest component of the Company's NAV and is determined by the valuations provided by the underlying investment Sponsors. These valuations are typically calculated on a discounted cash flow (DCF) basis, which are subject to a variety of underlying assumptions that are specific to the sector and characteristics of each Portfolio Company, and are determined by the investment Sponsors.

 

The degree to which these long-term assumptions change or are adjusted has the potential to impact the Company's NAV.With this in mind, the Investment Manager has performed a detailed analysis across the Portfolio to determine the Company's sensitivity to changes across a range of key assumptions, which are presented below.

 

Macroeconomic

Discount rates

Discount rates are a measure of the relative risk of an investment, and will typically comprise a risk-free rate component along with a sector or project-specific equity risk premium, which is determined relative to specific project risks and benchmark transactions. In some cases, Sponsors use a WACC-based discount rate to derive an enterprise valuation which is then adjusted by net debt to give an equity value. The Company does not disclose individual discount rates but reports its aggregated WADR, which at the year end was 13.6%.

 

Inflation

The extent to which a Portfolio Company's existing revenues and costs are expected to inflate, or escalate, also impacts valuations. The escalation of revenues and costs is often determined through contractual arrangements, with measures including direct pass-through of a local inflation measure, fixed escalators, inflation linkage subject to escalation caps and/or floors, or no indexation at all. Where revenues and/or costs are directly linked to inflation, any changes to the inflation assumptions determined by Sponsors will impact on valuations. Sponsors typically utilise external economic forecasts or central bank guidance for inflation assumptions. Where revenues or costs are not contracted, escalation will be determined by pricing power and therefore requires a greater degree of judgement.

 

Interest rate

Interest rate assumptions impact valuations if a Portfolio Company has an element of unhedged debt or expects to drawdown on floating rate borrowing facilities within its business plan. Where this is the case, Sponsors will usually update valuations to reflect the latest projections for longterm interbank lending, swap or risk-free rates.

 

For PINT NAV sensitivities as 31 December 2023 (Macroeconomic) chart please see page 35 of the full Annual Report and Accounts. 

 

Performance

Earnings growth

Earnings growth assumptions represent a key valuation assumption across the Portfolio. The most common earnings measure used is EBITDA, however other variations include Towers Cash Flow (towers) and Net Operating Income (data centres). Earnings growth forecasts represent a key area of judgement for Sponsors at the underwriting stage and usually incorporate several factors, including long-term assessments of market growth, market share and the barriers to entry in the sector, details of any high conviction opportunities and the potential for customer churn.

 

Exit valuation

The Company's stated business model is to invest in assets with a typical hold period of 5-7 years, before realising value through disposals, and recycling proceeds into new investments.

 

Accordingly, the Company's valuations are determined by assumptions around the terminal value of a Portfolio Company at the end of this 5-7 year period. Common methods of determining exit valuations include the application of a terminal earnings (EBITDA, Towers Cash Flow, Net Operating Income etc.) multiple, or a DCF approach based on a longterm or even perpetual stream of cash flows discounted at an assumed secondary purchaser IRR. The assumptions around these methods are typically taken from comparable recent transactions.

 

Exit timing

As with exit valuations, the assumptions around exit timing also impact the valuations of investment. The main drivers that feed in to this assumption are the duration of any capex rollout plans, the time horizon of the Sponsor's funds that are invested alongside PINT, as well as the expectations around longer-term market growth trends.

 

Operational expenditure ('Opex')

Operating expenditure will impact the profitability of Portfolio Companies, and increases that cannot be contractually passed on to customers have the potential to impact valuations. Sponsors also expect to achieve business efficiencies and for Portfolio Companies to operate at improved margins at increased business scale, and so the extent to which such views are revised in their assumptions will also impact valuations.

 

Capital expenditure ('Capex')

Determining capital expenditure is particularly critical for businesses with significant growth or remedial plans, and those that price offtake agreements around expected construction costs. Whilst in some cases there may be the ability to pass on increased input costs arising from capital expenditure to customers, this is not always possible, so Sponsors will usually incorporate a degree of contingency in their capital expenditure assumptions, whilst also mitigating the potential for cost increases through effective subcontractor arrangements.

 

For a chart of PINT NAV sensitivities at 31 December 2023 (Performance) please see page 36 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Sector specific

Energy volumes

PINT is exposed to the level of energy volume consumption or generation across some of its Power & Utilities investments. Long-term assumptions in this regard are typically based on a combination of historic volumes, the ongoing availability/efficiency of equipment and infrastructure and the presence of any minimum offtake or "take-or-pay" provisions or manufacturer availability guarantees.

 

Commodity prices

Commodity prices impact a number of the Company's investments that have long-term exposure to wholesale energy markets, through uncontracted revenues or imperfect pass-through of costs. As with other macroeconomic factors such as inflation and interest rates, Sponsors will often utilise external consultants to provide updated forecasts for such prices for inclusion in long-term cash flow/earnings forecasts.

 

Fibre penetration

Along with average revenue per unit (ARPU), fibre penetration is one of the key long-term inputs for a fibre business. The penetration assumption is the degree to which a Portfolio Company operating a fibre network assumes it will convert the number of homes it passes into paying customers and significantly impacts long-term earnings forecasts. The long-term assumptions in this regard are specific to the geography that the Portfolio Company operates in and the associated market dynamics (e.g. transaction structure or location, or any competitive advantage providing protections against overbuild or churn risks).

 

Hydrogen adoption

PINT is exposed to future hydrogen policy through its Power & Utilities investment in National Gas. The degree to which hydrogen adoption is assumed in the UK as an alternative energy source for domestic and industrial heating and eventually transport and energy, impacts the valuation of the investment. A range of potential outcomes for this adoption exist, with the downside being low hydrogen adoption though an "electric future" scenario and the upside being an accelerated hydrogen adoption "green has future" scenario .

 

M&A

A number of the Company's investments, most notably in the towers sector, include long-term assumptions around accretive M&A activities (i.e. the ability to acquire additional towers at favourable pricing). Such assumptions are subject to extensive due diligence and reflect very specific factors to each transaction, including geographic location, current ownership of M&A targets, potential acquisition synergies and/or strategic benefits, and any relevant exclusivity agreements.

 

For a chart of PINT NAV sensitivities at 31 December 2023 (sector specific) please see page 37 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

 

 

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES (APMs)

 

PINT assesses its performance using a variety of measures that may not specifically be defined under FRS 102 and are therefore termed APMs. The APMs used may not be directly comparable with those used by other companies. These APMs provide additional information as to how the Company has performed over the period and allow the Board, management and stakeholders to compare its performance.

 

APM

Details

Calculation

Reconciliation to FRS 102

How has PINT performed?

NAV Total Return

Total return comprises the investment return from the Portfolio and income from any cash balances, net of management, operating and finance costs. It also includes foreign exchange movement and movement in the fair value of derivatives and taxes.

It is calculated as the total return of £49.6 million (period to 31 December 2022: £8.0 million), as shown in the Income statement, as a percentage of the opening NAV of £474.8 million (31 December 2022: £392.1 million which was based on the net IPO proceeds).

The calculation uses the total comprehensive income reported in the income statement and net assets reported in the balance sheet, both being FRS 102 measures.

Total return for the year to 31 December 2023 was 10.4% (period to 31 December 2022: 2.1%).

Net asset value per share

A measure of the NAV per share in the Company.

It is calculated as the NAV divided by the total number of shares in issue at the balance sheet date.

The calculation uses FRS 102 measures and is set out in Note 18 to the accounts.

NAV per share at 31 December 2023 was 106.6p per share (31 December 2022: 98.9p per share).

Annual distribution

This measure reflects the dividends distributed to shareholders in respect of each year.

The dividend is measured on a pence per share basis.

The calculation uses FRS 102 measures, set out in Note 9 to the accounts.

Second interim dividend of 2p per share declared, to be paid on 23 April 2024, which together with the dividend of 2p per share paid in October 2023 totals 4p per share for the year ended 31 December 2023. The Company intends to continue paying dividends on a semi-annual basis in line with its progressive dividend policy.

Investment value and outstanding commitments

A measure of the size of the investment portfolio including the value of further contracted future investments committed by the Company.

It is calculated as the Portfolio asset value plus the amount of contracted commitments.

The Portfolio asset value uses the FRS 102 measure investments at fair value, set out in Note 1. The value of outstanding commitments is set out in Note 21 to the accounts.

The portfolio asset value at 31 December 2023 was £471.7 million (31 December 2022: £301.4 million).

 

Outstanding commitments at 31 December 2023 were £15.7 million (31 December 2022: £57.9 million)

 

 

 

INVESTMENT POLICY

 

As stated in its prospectus, the Company invests in a diversified portfolio of high-quality operational infrastructure assets which provide essential physical structures, systems and/or services to allow economies and communities to function effectively. The Company invests in both yielding and growth infrastructure assets which the Manager believes offer strong downside protection and typically offer strong inflation protection.

 

The Company invests globally, with a primary focus on developed OECD markets, with the majority of its investments in Europe and North America. The Company's portfolio is diversified across infrastructure sectors.

 

In each case, the Manager invests where it believes it can generate the most attractive riskadjusted returns.

 

The Company focuses on gaining exposure to infrastructure assets via co-investments alongside leading third-party private direct infrastructure asset investment managers who are acting as general partner or manager of a fund in which Pantheon, or any investment scheme, pooled investment vehicle or portfolio fund managed by Pantheon, has invested or may invest ('Sponsors'). In doing so, the Company may invest on its own or alongside other institutional clients of the Manager.

 

The Company may also invest in other direct or single asset investment opportunities originated by the Manager or by other third-party asset sourcing partners. The Company does not invest in private funds targeting a diversified portfolio of infrastructure investments.

 

Investment restrictions

The Company invests and manages its assets with the objective of spreading risk and, in doing so, is subject to the following investment restrictions, which are measured at the time of investment:

·     no single portfolio investment will represent more than 15% of Gross Asset Value;

·     no more than 20% of Gross Asset Value will be invested in investments where the underlying infrastructure asset is located in a non-OECD country; and

·     no more than 30% of Gross Asset Value will be invested alongside funds or accounts of any single Sponsor (other than Pantheon).

 

In addition, the Company does not invest in infrastructure assets whose principal operations are in any of the following sectors (each a 'Restricted Sector'):

·     coal (including coal-fired generation, transportation and mining);

·     oil (including upstream, midstream and storage);

·     upstream gas;

·     nuclear energy; and

·     mining.

 

The Company may invest in infrastructure assets whose principal operations are not in a Restricted Sector, but that nonetheless have some exposure to a Restricted Sector (for example, a diversified freight rail transportation asset that has some exposure to the coal sector), provided that: (i) no more than 15% of any such infrastructure asset's total revenues are derived from Restricted Sectors; (ii) no more than 5% of total revenues across the Portfolio (measured on a look-through basis) will be so derived.

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE             

(including wireless towers, data centres and fibre-optic networks)

 

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS               

(including ports, rail, roads, airports and logistics assets)

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

(including smart infrastructure, wind, solar and sustainable waste)

 

SOCIAL & OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE            

(including education, healthcare, government and community buildings)

 

POWER & UTILITIES

(including transmission and distribution networks, regulated utility companies and efficient conventional power assets)                   

 

 

 

Q&A WITH THE INVESTMENT MANAGER

 

How has PINT performed in the year, in shareholder return and NAV terms?

From a NAV perspective, we are very happy to have seen performance come through during the year as the exciting potential of PINT's portfolio has translated into fair value gains. This NAV progression, in addition to the dividends paid during the year, accounted for a NAV Total Return of 10.4%, which is tracking above the original IPO target of 8-10% per annum.

 

It is frustrating that PINT's share price return has not progressed in the same manner. The Company continues to be impacted by the wider market factors stemming from the increased interest rate environment, most acutely the outflows from retail and wealth managers, which have resulted in the current share price discount to NAV. We remain focused on maintaining the robust performance of the Portfolio and retain full confidence that in time the Company's share price will reflect NAV.

 

PINT is very active in the Digital Infrastructure sector, with more than 40% of its assets invested in the sector - why are you so heavily invested in the sector, and is this a trend you expect to continue? What are the risks associated with this sector?

PINT remains committed to a long-term allocation of around 35% in digital, and the volume of transactions done to date is a function of the high-quality deal flow we have seen across the fibre, towers and data centre sub-sectors. An increasingly connected world with a great reliance on the sharing of data means the favourable tailwinds in this sector are only likely to grow in time, which makes it an incredibly exciting space to be investing in.

 

As with an investment in any specific sector, this has to be done mindful of the apparent risks. Some of the factors that have been considered during the process of investing in PINT's digital assets include assessing prospective market share and overbuild risk (fibre), the tenor of contracts with customers (data centres and towers), access to power grid capacity (data centres) and the ability to add additional carriers to existing towers to increase tenancy ratios (towers).

 

What headwinds do you anticipate for the infrastructure asset class over the next year, and what are you doing to mitigate them?

We continue to be focused on the key risks around leverage, effective management of interest rate and merchant price exposures, and limiting exposure to GDP or demand-based risks. We think that speaks as much to what we consider to be infrastructure risk as much as it reflects an approach to mitigate risks in the current environment.

 

How are you going to continue to generate returns in a higher interest rate environment?

By investing in operating companies with favourable growth potential, there is some degree of exposure to interest rate risk (through capex facilities/RCFs which cannot be locked down in the way the debt of a solely operating asset can be). However, what we are seeing is that the companies PINT invests in have broadly been very effective at passing on these costs through their pricing models. More simplistically, these companies maintain discipline through their capital allocation and the returns for new projects or initiatives need to make sense in the current environment. We are encouraged to have seen this capital discipline maintained across the Portfolio.

 

Given the interest rate and economic environment, what new strategies or approaches are you considering to meet your targets in terms of income and total returns?

Given the positive NAV development we are seeing and the overall Portfolio performance in what has been a challenging macro environment, we do not see any immediate need to change PINT's approach. In fact, if anything, we think the approach has been bolstered by the fact we are now seeing investors place a greater emphasis on the need for capital growth from their infrastructure allocations.

 

How will the Company grow while the share price trades at a discount to NAV?

PINT's investment approach is to deliver NAV growth through capital appreciation across its Portfolio. This is important because as well as being a differentiator amongst a peer group that has traditionally been predominantly income focused, it means that the vehicle will naturally grow through the passage of time, providing investment objectives are achieved. We believe that realising this NAV growth through investment exits, then recycling proceeds into further growth opportunities, presents a valid basis for the Company's share price to return to a premium in the long-term, providing opportunities to materially increase the size of the Company through additional equity issuances.

 

 

 

OUR MARKET

 

Infrastructure continues to demonstrate resilience against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

 

Market growth

In 2023, AUM in the private infrastructure market grew to in excess of $1 trillion, with a projected CAGR of ~11% between 2023 and 20271. Against this backdrop, competition for assets has intensified, with allocations to infrastructure increasing and new participants entering the market in specialised subsectors. Increased competition in the market has necessitated a focus on maintaining a disciplined and selective investment approach.

 

Macro

Deterioration in the global macro economy has continued to demonstrate the resilience of the infrastructure asset class. Rising inflation, although directly benefiting those assets with inflation linkage, led to central bank policy tightening throughout 2023. However, Pantheon's experience is that any upward pressure on discount rates for infrastructure asset valuations has largely been offset by valuation benefits associated with inflation and other sector-specific tailwinds.

 

Key macro themes

01. Rising inflation

·     Peak inflation appears to have passed and, in most developed economies, inflation rates are falling.

·     Contracted and inflation-linked revenues can provide protection during periods of rising inflation.

 

02. Rising energy prices

·     Energy markets have dramatically changed over the past year or two, which has knock-on effects for certain types of infrastructure assets.

·     Power generation assets with merchant price exposure should continue to see yield and valuation benefits.

·     Assets with pricing power will continue, where possible, to pass on higher energy costs to customers.

·     Energy-intensive infrastructure assets may experience headwinds as a result of higher costs.

 

03. Interest rates

·     Increased bond yields have driven up risk-free rates, although transactional evidence is not showing any significant increase in discount rates for core plus assets, and yields now seem to have peaked.

·     Historic debt financing on favourable terms, hedging and availability of longer-term fixed debt have provided a good degree of downside protection. Higher future refinancing rates could lead to lower enterprise valuations.

 

04. Foreign exchange

·     Although PINT's foreign exchange risk is partly hedged, USD strength will continue to benefit assets with USDdenominated revenue.

 

1. Source: Preqin Special Report - The Future of Alternatives in 2027. Closedended funds only; October 2022.

 

Infrastructure market indicators

Upward trends in deal activity, recovering fundraising and improving investor sentiment provide a positive backdrop for future growth.

 

For charts showing:

Deal activity by geography;

Deal activity by sector;

Infrastructure fundraising; and

Investor sentiment for future allocations

 

please see page 43 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

The way in which societies and economies function over time is changing, which creates new long-term tailwinds for the sectors that serve them.

 

PINT has constructed a portfolio in these growing markets with favourable tailwinds which should provide sustainable returns to shareholders.

 

Global changes

Urbanisation

Digitalisation

Smart cities

Telecommunications

Work from home

Decarbonisation

Population growth

Supply chain realignment

 

Key sector themes

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

·     Sustained increase in demand due to global trends requiring major increase in data/connectivity (remote working, gaming, AI, streaming, videos etc.).

·     Labour and supply chain shortages/issues are impacting certain build-out and development projects.

 

POWER & UTILITIES

·     The role of hydrogen has the potential to be significant in energy transition, which impacts utilities such as gas transmission and distribution companies.

·     Revenues tend to be inflation-linked, which is highly beneficial in the current market environment.

·     High demand and lack of supply in the market has driven asset prices up.

 

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY

·     Governments and supranational organisations globally are prioritising climate change issues and clean energy, leading to tangible and targets for many organisations.

·     Infrastructure supporting the development of energy transition is still underdeveloped in areas such as the electric grid/EVs; further investment in this sector is in high demand.

·     However, the process to build/transition relevant assets is comparatively slow.

 

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

·     Increased demand for cleaner modes of transport in line with aforementioned global trends.

 

SOCIAL & OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE

·     Growth in life sciences, medical services and research, and an ageing population are driving demand for infrastructure in this sector.

·     Challenges include lack of tangible current deal flow, and limited relative attractiveness due to pricing, which has meant PINT has not made any social infrastructure investments to date.

 

Pantheon opinion. There is no guarantee that these trends will persist.

 

 

 

SECTOR SPOTLIGHT - HYDROGEN

 

Introduction

Hydrogen is an abundant, energy-dense and combustible element which exists in gas form at temperatures above -253˚C. Its properties give it the potential to displace fossil fuels in a range of industrial processes and power generation.

 

Some of its potential end uses include:

·     Transport fuel - shipping, aviation, heavy vehicles

·     Fertiliser production

·     Plastics and chemical manufacturing

·     Steel production

 

There is also ongoing consideration of hydrogen's role in heat and power generation, the viability of which continues to be debated relative to the process efficiency compared to other low-carbon sources, such as renewable power generation and district heating.

 

Production

Globally, approximately 95% of all hydrogen is produced by the steam methane reforming (SMR) process. The SMR process involves reacting fossil fuels (mainly natural gas) with steam at high temperatures to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Without the addition of carbon capture technology, carbon dioxide is released as a byproduct of this process, creating what is commonly referred to as "grey hydrogen". There are a variety of other methods that seek to reduce the carbon intensity of production, including:

·     green hydrogen - typically produced through splitting water by electrolysis using renewable power;

·     blue hydrogen - produced from SMR with carbon capture; and

·     pink hydrogen - produced through splitting water by electrolysis using power generated from nuclear power.

 

Role of hydrogen in energy transition

The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its latest Net Zero Roadmap Update, estimates that hydrogen will be responsible for c.4% of the emissions abatement in a scenario where net zero emissions are achieved by 2050.

 

Emissions reduction by mitigation in the net zero scenario, 2021-2050

  
Renewables | 32%
Electrification | 20%  
Energy efficiency | 12%
CCUS | 8%
Behaviour and avoided demand | 12%
Hydrogen | 4% 
Other fuel shifts | 12%

 

This contribution implies an increase in demand for hydrogen from around 100 million tonnes (Mt) today to 150Mt by 2030, increasing to 430Mt in 2050, all of which will need to be produced from low-carbon sources. The significant contributors to this increase are transport (main impact from 2035), industry (significant current demand expected to grow as industrial processes are decarbonised) and power generation (replacement of natural gas and coalfired power generation).

 

For chart showing the Announced annual electrolyser manufacturing capacity (GW) - % of NZE capacity please see page 46 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Hydrogen infrastructure

Governments around the world have set targets for green hydrogen production to support the decarbonisation of industrial processes and transport.

 

The forecast increase in demand for low-carbon hydrogen and associated support schemes put in place by governments has spurred investment across the value chain by corporate and infrastructure investors into electrolysis derived green hydrogen opportunities. The IEA estimates that electrolyser manufacturing investments announced to date will cover 73% of the total required global capacity by 2030.

 

United Kingdom

2GW by 2025

10GW by 2030

·     Net Zero Hydrogen Fund - £240 million pathfinder funding.

·     Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement - Govt. backed Contract-for-Difference (CfD).

·     Supporting "no regrets" transportation and storage.

 

United States

10Mt by 2030

50Mt by 2050

·     Target to produce clean hydrogen at $1/kg by 2030.

·     Focus on regional networks near off-takers.

·     H2Hubs - $7 billion of federal funding to support 3Mt p.a. capacity.

 

European Union

10Mt, 40GW by 2030

·     REPowerEU - innovation funding and carbon CfDs.

·     EC regulation will require replacement of 40% grey hydrogen with renewable hydrogen by 2025.

·     €6 billion Connecting Europe Facility funding for cross-border energy projects.

 

Australia

Up to 10% of global supply in 2050

·     Target to produce clean hydrogen at A$2/kg.

·     A$1.2 billion of investment to date, including seven clean hydrogen hubs.

·     Australian mining company, Fortescue, is targeting 15Mt production by 2030.

 

PINT approach

PINT's approach to identifying investment opportunities in hydrogen is focused on projects that demonstrate characteristics aligned with traditional infrastructure assets, namely with downside protection through a high proportion of contractual or regulated cash flows that feature some explicit or implicit link to inflation.

 

Currently, hydrogen projects in development typically have limited visibility of long-term offtake agreements at the outset, making it difficult to assess the balance of risk and reward. Some subsidy regimes, such as the Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement in the UK, can help to mitigate cash flow uncertainty once a project is operational.

 

Transactions that involve the decarbonisation of an existing asset can provide increased cash flow visibility and downside protection if the transition to hydrogen is delayed or the terms of supply/offtake agreements and state support are initially unknown. In this respect, PINT has invested in National Gas, a regulated utility which owns and operates the gas transmission network in Great Britain. Its current network supplies natural gas used in power generation, industrial processes and by the 85% of UK households that use gas-fired heating. It connects Great Britain to key gas import and export infrastructure including onshore terminals for gas fields in the North Sea, LNG terminals and interconnectors with Europe. National Gas is working together with other key stakeholders, including gas distribution networks, to develop a facility from decommissioned assets which will carry out safety and feasibility tests on hydrogen blending in existing gas infrastructure. This will inform a broader project to upgrade and repurpose the transmission network to carry hydrogen from key production sites across Great Britain to industrial clusters and distribution networks. The decision on whether to proceed with hydrogen blending and undertake related network investment will ultimately be made in conjunction with regulator Ofgem, the Health & Safety Executive and the UK government.

 

 

 

BUSINESS MODEL

 

Purpose

The Company has built a global portfolio of investments with blended risk/return profiles, and set targets across deal types, sectors and geographies for diversification.

 

Our co-investment strategy differentiates us in the listed infrastructure market.

 

What sets us apart

1 Deal Selectivity

Sponsor relationships drive strong deal flow, allowing for highly selective investment process.

 

2 Diversification

Access to investments across sourcing Sponsors, sectors and geographies.

 

3 Sponsor Specialisation

Ability to choose deals alongside a Sponsor with a distinct edge who may be best placed to create value.

 

4 Fee efficient

Co-investments typically offered with no ongoing management fee/carried interest charged by the Sponsors.

 

Capturing secular growth

 

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE                             

·     Growth in mobile data traffic

·     Growth in 5G connected devices

                               

RENEWABLES & ENERGY EFFICIENCY                           

·     Average cost reduction for solar/wind

·     Increasing global installed wind/solar capacity

                               

POWER & UTILITIES

·     US/Europe transitioning grids to accommodate more renewable energy

·     US coal power plant retirements

                               

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

·     Increased global trade

·     Higher ecommerce penetration

 

How we create value

Investors

Shareholders

Investors in PINT can participate in a globally diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets alongside other leading private asset managers and institutional investors.

PINT's business model creates value by allowing Pantheon, the Investment Manager, to allocate capital and invest on its behalf alongside the Sponsors that it believes have a distinct edge in a particular infrastructure sector.

Vehicle

PINT (public)

PINT has access to Pantheon's deal sourcing platform.

 

Since PINT is publicly listed, any retail or institutional investor is able to benefit from any value it creates.

PANTHEON

Other Pantheon Funds (private)

Pantheon provides a broad sourcing network with leading private asset investment managers and has strong relationships with Sponsors it can leverage on behalf of PINT.

 

Refer to the Investment Manager's report for more details.

Portfolio

Infrastructure assets

Highquality infrastructure assets typically benefit from longterm contractual cash flows, positive correlation to inflation and exposure to secular changes in society.

 

Value creation

8-10%

p.a.

NAV Total Return per share

 

4p

per share1

second year dividend, progressive thereafter

 

1. The Company is paying a dividend of 4p per share for the year ended 31 December 2023, and, thereafter, progressive.

 

 

Background to co-investments

There are broadly three routes to investing in private infrastructure assets:

 

Co-investments

Co-investments give investors the opportunity to invest alongside Sponsors in specific Portfolio Companies. Allocating to co-investments can provide incremental advantages to investors, including targeted deal selection and fee-efficient exposure to transactions which are often offered by Sponsors on a no-fee and nocarry basis.

 

Primaries

Primaries involve a commitment to a newly launched limited life fund managed by a Sponsor who will build a portfolio of private investments and seek to exit improved businesses in the later years of the fund term at a profit.                           

 

Secondaries

Secondaries traditionally involve the purchase of an interest in an established private fund or a portfolio of funds from an existing investor.

 

PINT's investment policy is to gain exposure to infrastructure assets via co-investments. This can take the form of the following types of transaction:

·     Co-bid: partnering with a lead Sponsor to underwrite a deal prior to final bid submission, requiring the need for a sophisticated investor who can lead independent due diligence on an asset.

·     Targeted syndication: following the signing of a deal, a Sponsor will offer a select group of investors a portion of the deal. This will typically comprise fewer than five parties, who may have undertaken some early due diligence on the transaction.

·     General syndication: following the signing of a deal, a Sponsor will offer all of its existing fund investors the opportunity to gain exposure to a transaction.

 

 

Sale process initiated

Final bid submitted

Deal signing

Co-bid

 

Targeted syndication

 

 

General syndication

 

Advantages of investing in infrastructure via co-investments

Investing in co-investments can be an attractive way to gain access to private infrastructure for several reasons, including:

 

Access

There are fewer public market opportunities to access infrastructure assets, as infrastructure companies tend to remain private for longer periods of time. Therefore, investing through co-investments provides access to assets not normally accessible by public market investors.

 

Enhanced economics

The use of co-investments can reduce the overall expense ratio and gross-tonet performance spread of a portfolio, as most deals are offered with no ongoing management fee or carried interest charged by the Sponsor.

 

Alignment

The structure of co-investments provides significant alignment through the incentivisation of both deal Sponsors, who typically provide the majority of capital through their primary fund vehicles, and Portfolio Company management who are typically tied in under long-term incentive programmes.

 

Portfolio construction

Pantheon is able to utilise co-investments to select individual assets to gain exposure to, and tilt the Portfolio towards, sectors based on the Investment Manager's view on relative value.

 

Diversification

Co-investments enable a portfolio to be constructed that is diversified across infrastructure sectors, geographies, stages and Sponsor.

 

Exposure to nascent sectors

Co-investments can provide access to nascent and emerging sectors that may otherwise be underweight or not be available within primary or secondary investment opportunities.

 

Sponsor specialisation

Co-investors have the ability to choose deals alongside a Sponsor with a distinct edge who may be best placed to create value.

 

Pantheon's investment process

Sourcing

Screening

Due diligence

Approval

Execution

 

Sourcing and origination

In its role as Investment Manager to the Company, Pantheon is responsible for the sourcing and execution of transactions on behalf of PINT.

 

The Investment Manager's sourcing leads to a wide array of investment opportunities as Sponsors embrace new transaction models and co-investment appetite from investors increases. Pantheon's primary relationships and network of Sponsors allow it to be a preferred co-investor, screening a high volume of proprietary transactions. Pantheon's ability to work with partners to provide capital solutions in complex scenarios is expected to continue to generate differentiated deal flow and allow it to acquire high-quality and difficulttoaccess assets for the Company's portfolio and other Pantheon clients.

 

Co-investment capital makes up a sizeable portion of the infrastructure investment universe, and Pantheon continues to see strong deal flow, with continued signs of growth. This is driven by Sponsors continuing to see the wider franchise benefit in offering their trusted partners co-investment deal flow, and in particular due to such Sponsors being constrained by fund concentration limits. Such limits may restrict the volume of capital many Sponsors can invest from their funds in larger transactions, potentially restricting their access to many deals unless they have access to additional co-investment capital.

 

Global sourcing and rigorous screening with highly selective conversion rate

 

Pantheon's infrastructure co-investment deal funnel, 2015-2023

 

Deals screened

$88bn

863 deals

 

Advanced diligence

$8bn

82 deals

5% conversion rate

Closed

$4.3bn

52 deals

 

Pantheon: annual infrastructure co-investments screened ($bn):

 

2015        4

2016        5

2017        5

2018        8

2019        10

2020        14

2021        12

2022        12

2023        18

CAGR 22%

 

Screening

Screening is the first of three stages of the Pantheon investment due diligence and approval process. This stage involves preliminary due diligence of the opportunity, which includes:

·     assessing the deal fit to fund strategy;

·     review potential returns profile;

·     explore risk factors;

·     determine manager track record;

·     understand transaction dynamics and sponsor alignment; and

·     conduct fund/company overview.

 

Reasons to decline

·     Poor-quality assets

·     Business/firm franchise issue

·     Lack of coverage

·     Overly competitive process

·     Limited Pantheon edge

·     Poor fit with portfolio strategy

·     ESG considerations      

 

Due diligence and underwriting

After Screening, due diligence will be undertaken as part of the "Advanced Notice" stage, including:

·     review financial model and underlying assumptions;

·     review internal and company databases;

·     evaluate macro trends and sector themes/outlook and review compatibility with assumptions; and

·     identify risks and mitigants.

 

Reasons to decline

·     High debt levels

·     High purchase price

·     Commodity price risk

·     Concentration risk

·     Quality of assets/Sponsors

·     Lack of embedded value

·     Pricing disconnect

 

If a deal is approved at Advanced Notice stage, it will proceed to the final investment committee stage, Investment Thesis. Transactional and due diligence work undertaken ahead of this includes:

·     benchmark performance;

·     extensive asset due diligence;

·     assess downside protection;

·     finalise financial model;

·     onsite manager visits;

·     ESG and climate change risk assessment;

·     tax due diligence;

·     conduct background checks/reference calls; and

·     complete "Investment Thesis" for submission to Global Infrastructure & Real Assets Committee (GIRAC).

 

Reasons to decline

·     Legal considerations

·     Limited downside protection

·     Inconclusive references

·     Weak governance

·     ESG considerations

 

For coinvestments, the Company is typically entering the acquisition at the same time as the Sponsor who sets the valuation and enters at the same price, creating alignment with the Company. The Sponsor provides its valuation assumptions for the target asset and the Investment Manager will seek to verify them, and either enter the deal at the same return target as the Sponsor, or take a more conservative view on some of the valuation assumptions which may result in a lower base case return target. This process involves the Investment Manager conducting its own independent review of the valuation assumptions which includes, but is not limited to, the following analysis as part of the Investment Thesis:

·     review of all due diligence material available, including technical, market, legal, financial and tax, usually prepared by third-party independent consultants. Assumptions for the valuation are driven from these reports;

·     consult with external market contacts to verify key assumptions;

·     review financial model driving the valuation; and

·     conduct downside and upside sensitivities to prepare a Pantheon base case that still meets relevant return requirements.

 

The base case prepared during the investment process forms the basis of the final Investment Thesis. The investment return targets can be attributed to several key components of a target business, which may include:

·     existing business: returns from the profitability of the target's existing assets/contracts.

·     organic growth: returns derived from initiatives to greater utilise existing infrastructure, such as leasing further antennae capacity on an existing tower installation or supplying other energy products to existing clients of a district heating business.

·     growth capital: returns generated from capital expenditure initiatives, taking the form of expanding and/or upgrading existing or developing new infrastructure. Such initiatives will depend on the target company's ability to source and execute on a pipeline of growth opportunities.

·     capital structure: returns generated from optimising the target's debt structure in tandem with its growth trajectory.

·     M&A activity: returns generated from the increased scale and efficiencies achieved through bolt-on acquisition activity.

·     operational efficiencies: increased returns generated from reduced operating costs achievable through greater business scale.

·     multiple expansion: returns generated from delivering an exit at an increased earnings multiple relative to the initial entry valuation. An increased exit multiple would be in keeping with the expectations to both increase the scale of the target as well as reducing the risk profile over time.

 

The expected holding period for each co-investment is typically between five to seven years, however this does not form the basis of any guaranteed exit timing or method from the Sponsor. The final timing of a co-investment exit will be a function of business performance and economic conditions, and accordingly this is sensitised during the underwriting process to ensure any delays will not materially compromise expected returns.

 

Several key financial metrics are used for analytical purposes, including internal rate of return (IRR) and multiple on invested capital (MOIC). IRR is the annual rate of growth that an investment is expected to generate over its life, and MOIC measures investment returns by comparing the total realised value of an investment at the exit date relative to the initial investment amount. The illustrative bridge chart below demonstrates the contributions to expected returns of certain assumptions in a typical private market infrastructure coinvestment transaction.

 

Approval and execution

The final path approval of a deal includes:

·     Presentation of final Investment Thesis

·     Approval by GIRAC

·     Allocation between Pantheon clients in line with investment allocation policy

·     Funding ringfenced pending completion

 

For chart showing Illustrative MOIC composition please see page 55 of the Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Once a deal has been approved, it will move to legal closing and execution, which involves:

·     Optimising deal structure

·     Review and negotiate agreements

·     Finalise reporting requirements

·     Negotiate preferential terms and rights

·     Execute transfer and payments

·     Implement hedging initiatives

 

 

The Company invests in infrastructure assets typically through a coinvestment programme.

 

Valuations

The Company invests in infrastructure assets typically through a co-investment programme. In a typical coinvestment the Company partakes in the investment alongside a lead investor or a Sponsor. The Sponsor will typically set up a co-investment vehicle, subject to annual statutory audits, that invests in the underlying infrastructure investment and will issue a NAV and capital accounts on a quarterly basis.

 

The Sponsor will usually own the majority of equity and have significant or controlling influence in the asset. Accordingly, Pantheon considers the Sponsor to be the responsible party for preparing the valuation on behalf of the co-investment vehicle, and will largely rely upon the valuations prepared by the Sponsor that have been prepared in-line with relevant accounting standards and IPEV guidelines.

 

In private market investing, the Sponsor is usually considered to be the best party to determine the appropriate valuation due to the following:

·     intimate knowledge of the underlying infrastructure asset held in the SPV and its business financials and the fundamental business environment in which it operates;

·     knowledge of the market environment in which transactions of comparable companies take place; and

·     the Company's economic interest in an investment as a coinvestor is aligned with that of the Sponsor.

 

In private market transactions, the purchase cost of the investment is an indication of its initial fair value and is thereafter calibrated for subsequent events and changes in valuation inputs. Infrastructure assets often display particular characteristics allowing long-term financial forecasts to be prepared, which tends to result in a high prevalence of the use of DCF methodology in the valuation.

 

In such cases, fair value is estimated by deriving the present value of the expected cash flows generated by the investment through the use of reasonable assumptions such as appropriate discount rates to reflect the inherent risk of the assets forming the investment.

 

Valuation governance

Pantheon operates a valuation committee, which is independent of the investment and investor relations teams, which ensures that there are robust governance, oversight and process frameworks in place, guaranteeing compliance with standards and consistent application of policy.

 

The valuation committee reviews and challenges the valuations provided by the Sponsors and reviews the accounting policies and valuations methodologies applied. The valuation committee has responsibility for approving investment valuations which determine the fair value of the Portfolio, with input from the investment team who are responsible for managing the Portfolio.

 

 

 

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

 

The Company seeks to generate attractive riskadjusted total returns for shareholders over the long term, comprising both capital growth and a progressive dividend.

 

Through the acquisition of equity or equityrelated investments, PINT offers a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets with a primary focus on developed OECD markets.

 

Total returns:

 

Diversification

Global portfolio with exposure to regions, sectors and sourcing partners and the ability to tilt the Portfolio over time to the best risk/return opportunities.

 

Capturing longterm growth

Exposure to growth dynamics within infrastructure subsectors including the transition to a net zero carbon economy and the digitalisation of social and economic activity.

 

Resilient cash flow assets

Emphasis on direct infrastructure assets with substantial contracted cash flows and conservative leverage creates a portfolio with downside protection.

 

Valuecreation opportunities

Assets where added value can be created through operational optimisation, incremental expansion of a platform or industry consolidation, utilising the skill set and track record of Sponsors.

 

Inflation protection

Natural hedge against rising inflation with certain assets benefiting from inflation protection.

 

Strong ESG characteristics

Robust asset and Sponsor ESG risk assessment through due diligence, ongoing asset monitoring and exclusion of highrisk ESG sectors from the strategy, including coal, oil, gas (upstream), mining and nuclear.

 

 

 

RESPONSIBLE INVESTING AND ESG

 

An enhanced approach to responsible investing

The Board of PINT recognises that a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) is an important tool for risk mitigation and can lead to value creation across the investment portfolio.

 

Adherence to ESG principles has been incorporated in Pantheon's pre and post-investment processes for many years and the Investment Manager will continue to play an influential role in promoting ESG standards and diversity and inclusion in private markets.

 

The Directors of PINT have full oversight of ESG matters within PINT's portfolio and fully support Pantheon's long-standing commitment in this area.

 

Investing responsibly in infrastructure is central to PINT's business model. Sound ESG practices and operating sustainably are integral to building a resilient infrastructure business and creating long-term value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

 

PINT is classified as Article 8 under the European Union's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). To support its promoted environmental/social characteristics, PINT has adopted an investment policy which restricts investments in specific excluded sectors, i.e. coal (including coal-fired generation, transportation and mining), oil (including upstream, midstream and storage), upstream gas, nuclear energy and mining.

 

PINT's Board is ultimately responsible for its sustainability and established its ESG & Sustainability Committee in July 2023 to oversee and review its ESG & Sustainability Policy, which can be found on PINT's website (www.pantheoninfrastructure.com). The Committee is chaired by Ms Finegan, an independent Non-Executive Director, and consists of PINT's Board members along with Pantheon's Global Head of ESG. Full biographies of the Board Committee members can be found below and on pages 74 to 75 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Looking ahead, the Company is aiming to improve data collection, resulting in increased disclosures with the aim of improving ESG performance of investments. The focus over the next year will be very much on engagement with suppliers and Sponsors to develop data collection and disclosure in relation to Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and climate risk assessments.

 

As Investment Manager, Pantheon is tasked with delivering this ESG and Sustainability Policy day-to-day.

 

Pantheon's group-wide Sustainability Policy can be found on Pantheon's website (www.pantheon.com). It's objective is to ensure that material ESG considerations are appropriately reflected in Pantheon's pre and post-investment processes.

 

Pantheon is rigorous in assessing and managing sustainability-related risks in its managed portfolio and identifying opportunities. Pantheon believes this is crucial to harnessing the potential for value creation, as well as in protecting the interests and reputations of its firm and clients.

 

Equally, Pantheon is experienced in actively seeking investments in opportunities arising from the development of solutions to global sustainability challenges. These longterm trends are aligned with PINT's strategy and investment mandate.

 

 

Pantheon has deeply embedded ESG considerations into its investment processes, from the initial screening of opportunities, through due diligence and engagement and post-investment monitoring.

 

Pantheon's focus recently has been on enhancing its screening and due diligence on deals from an ESG perspective. Pantheon has introduced a new approach to ESG called TIES - which stands for Transparency, Integration, Engagement and Solutions - as this encapsulates the strong ties between Pantheon, the Sponsors and the Portfolio Companies. As part of this, Pantheon recently developed a proprietary ESG due diligence scorecard, incorporating a range of topics including climate risk, reputational risk, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and biodiversity.

 

PINT's focus on co-investments provides the Investment Manager with more control over ESG and enables Pantheon to undertake ESG due diligence on Portfolio companies prior to investing.

 

Pantheon is committed to advocating for ESG practices across the infrastructure industry through its participation in a variety of industry initiatives and by using its position on advisory boards worldwide to promote high ESG standards on behalf of PINT among Sponsors and investee companies.

 

Pantheon TIES

 

Transparency

Enhanced transparency through improved ESG practices

 

Integration

Integration of ESG screening, due diligence and monitoring

 

Engagement

Consistent Sponsor, industry and investor engagement leads to improved ESG outcomes

 

Solutions

Developing Pantheon's capability to offer solutions that meet investors' ESG and sustainability requirements

 

Pantheon's enhanced ESG framework

 

Screening

Due diligence

Monitoring/engagement

Reporting

ESG screening process applied to all investment opportunities

ESG scorecard used to assess:

1.   Private markets manager

2.   Private markets fund

3.   Single-company deal

4.   Multi-company deal

Monitoring:

1.   Private markets manager data collection

2.   Portfolio Company data collection

Engagement:

1.   Private markets manager: targeted engagement based on scorecard

2.   Industry: advocate for ESG best practice through industry trade bodies

Focusing efforts on standardised ESG reporting templates to align with:

1.   SFDR metrics

2.   ESG Data Convergence Initiative metrics

3.   Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure requirements

In practice

Integrated into ESG due diligence scorecard

In practice

ESG due diligence scoreboard output included in investment committee memos

In practice

Enhancing ESG data collection systems

 

During the period, PINT's 2022 sustainability report was released, which included detailed climate risk disclosures, guided by the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The sustainability report set out how climate-related risks are integrated into PINT's governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets.

 

The Company looks forward to sharing PINT's 2023 sustainability report, which will incorporate more detailed reporting in accordance with the TCFD recommendations. The table below illustrates the progress made to date.

 

Area

Disclosures

Reference

Summary of progress

Governance

a) Describe the Board's oversight of climaterelated risks and opportunities

b) Describe management's role in assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities

·     Corporate governance: page 79 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Investment process: above and page 52 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Responsible investing & ESG: above and page 58 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     ESG & Sustainability Committee: page 94 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

 

 

 

 

 

·     PINT's Board is ultimately responsible for its sustainability, and formally established its ESG & Sustainability Committee in July 2023 to oversee and review these activities as set out in the ESG and Sustainability Policy. PINT is committed to sustainability throughout its supply chain. The appointment of third parties is overseen by the PINT Board and reviewed annually at the Management Engagement Committee.

·     Pantheon executes PINT's strategy, makes investment decisions, monitors climate-related performance and reports to the Board on progress.

Strategy

a) Describe the climate-related risks and opportunities the organisation has identified over the short, medium and long term

b) Describe the impact of climaterelated risks and opportunities on the organisation's businesses, strategy and financial planning

c) Describe the resilience of the organisation's strategy, taking into consideration different climate-related scenarios, including a 2°C or lower scenario

·     Chair's statement: above and page 8 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Our market: above and page 42 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Investment strategy: above and page 57 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Principal risks and uncertainties: below and page 68 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

·     Viability statement: below and page 72 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

 

 

 

 

 

·     PINT will not invest in infrastructure assets whose principal operations are in:

·     Coal (including coal-fired generation, transportation and mining)

·     Oil (including upstream, midstream and storage)

·     Upstream gas

·     Nuclear energy

·     Mining

·     Following climate risk assessments in 2022, the impact of climate related drivers associated with both changing climatic conditions and the transition to a low carbon economy have been considered. Pantheon has engaged an external consultant to enable a more granular assessment of these risks.

Risk management

a) Describe the organisation's processes for identifying and assessing climate-related risks

b) Describe the organisation's processes for managing climaterelated risks

c) Describe how processes for identifying, assessing and managing climate-related risks are integrated into the organisation's overall risk management

·     Principal risks and uncertainties: below and page 68 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

 

·     The Company has a comprehensive risk and governance framework to ensure all risks, including ESG and climaterelated risks, are monitored and managed with due care and diligence

·     The Board exercises oversight of this framework, through its Audit and Risk Committee, and ESG risks and opportunities are additionally considered by the ESG & Sustainability Committee

·     Based on the results of Pantheon's scenario analysis assessment, 100% of PINT's portfolio is expected to see a neutral or positive transition impact. 87% of PINT's portfolio present an opportunity in the transition.

Metrics and targets

a) Disclose the metrics used by the organisation to assess climate-related risks and opportunities in line with its strategy and risk management process

b) Disclose Scope 1, Scope 2, and, if appropriate, Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the related risks

c) Describe the targets used by the organisation to manage climate-related risks and opportunities and performance against targets

·     Responsible investing and ESG: above and page 58 of the full Annual Report and Accounts

 

·     PINT has committed to report certain climate-related metrics, as set out above and on page 10 of the full Annual Report and Accounts of its recent Sustainability Report, including:

·     GHG emissions data (tCO2e)

·     Year of emissions

·     Carbon intensity (tCO2e/£m revenue)

·     Carbon footprint (tCO2e/£m NAV)

·     Coverage (% of NAV reported)

·    The Company is in the process of calculating its Scope 1, 2 and relevant Scope 3 emissions for the purposes of its upcoming TCFD reporting.

 

Looking ahead, the Company is aiming to improve data collection resulting in better disclosures and also improved ESG performance of investments. We acknowledge that as an investment company without control of the underlying investee companies, we are heavily reliant on Pantheon and the Sponsors for the collection of data and delivery of any ESG objectives.

 

The focus over the next year will be very much on engagement with suppliers and Sponsors to develop the communication, data collection and disclosure. In particular:

 

1.   Data and KPIs - increasing the capture of ESG data e.g. capturing actual Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions rather than relying on estimates through increasing engagement with Sponsors;

2.   Disclosures - we will review the TCFD product report which the Investment Manager is required to publish in the course of 2024. Additionally, we will monitor and keep up to date with the development of the TNFD ("Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures");

3.   Climate risk assessment - Pantheon is working on enhancing its transparency of climate-related risk analysis and it assesses each individual investment and climate-related risks

4.   Supplier reporting - as a Company we are reliant on the service providers we have engaged and intend to collect more information and data on the ESG focussed policies they have in place, as well as monitoring compliance reporting, with the aim of disclosing this information in the sustainability report.

 

 

 

S172(1) Statement

 

The overarching duty of the Directors is to act in good faith and in a way that is most likely to promote the success of the Company, as set out in section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 ('the Act').

 

Directors' duties

Overview

The Directors must take into consideration the interests of the various stakeholders of the Company, the impact the Company has on the community and the environment, take a longterm view on the consequences of the decisions they make, and aim to maintain a reputation for high standards of business conduct and fair treatment between the members of the Company. Fulfilling this duty supports the Company in achieving its investment strategy and making decisions in a responsible and sustainable way.

 

During the year, the Directors consider, in good faith, that they have acted in a way that would most likely promote the long-term success of PINT for the benefit of its members as a whole, with due regard to the likely consequences of any decisions in the long term, as well as the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders, as required by the Act. Below, the Directors explain how they discharged these duties.

 

Stakeholders and long-term decisions

PINT is an externally managed investment company and does not have any employees or customers. Its key stakeholders are its shareholders, the Investment Manager, Sponsors, Portfolio Companies, service providers, lenders and regulators. The Board considers the feedback from, and views of, PINT's stakeholders at every Board meeting, and all discussions involve careful consideration of the longerterm consequences of any decisions and their impact on stakeholders. Overleaf, we describe how we engage with our stakeholders to understand their views, how they are affected by the Board's decisions, how their feedback shapes decisions, and any outcomes. We also explain how PINT fosters business relationships with suppliers, customers and others, and maintains a reputation for high standards of business conduct. PINT's impact on the environment, and how PINT and the Investment Manager approach ESG, is explained in detail above and on pages 58 to 62 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

Shareholders

 

Importance

Holding PINT's shares offers investors a liquid investment vehicle through which they can obtain exposure to PINT's portfolio of infrastructure investments, therefore, continued shareholder support and engagement are critical to the business and the delivery of PINT's longterm strategy.

Board engagement

The Board is committed to maintaining open channels of communication and to engaging with shareholders in a way they find most meaningful, these include:

·     AGM

The Company will hold its second AGM on 20 June 2024 and welcomes and encourages shareholders to participate in the meeting. Shareholders will have the opportunity to meet the Directors and the Investment Manager, ask questions and provide us with feedback. The Board values the feedback and questions it receives and takes action or makes changes, as and when appropriate.

·     Publications

The annual report and halfyear reports are an opportunity for PINT to provide information and updates on the Company's business model, strategy, portfolio and financial position. Feedback and/or questions PINT receives from shareholders help the Company to evolve its reporting, aiming to render the reports and updates more transparent and understandable.

·     Shareholder meetings

The Chair, the Board and Pantheon meet with shareholders throughout the year; the Investment Manager holds presentations for institutional investors and analysts, and all shareholders are invited to join PINT's capital markets day. The Company always responds to communications from shareholders, and anyone wishing to communicate directly with the Board can contact the Company Secretary at: pintcosec@linkgroup.co.uk or by writing to PINT's registered office. Feedback from all meetings with shareholders is shared and discussed with the Board and taken into account when taking decisions (examples are included below and on page 67 of the full Annual Report and Accounts).

·     Shareholder concerns

In the event that shareholders wish to raise issues or concerns, they are welcome to do so at any time by writing to the Chair or the SID at PINT's registered office. All Board members are also available to shareholders if they have concerns or questions.

·     Investor relations updates

At every Board meeting, the Directors receive updates from the Investment Manager and the Company's broker on the Company's trading activity and share price performance, especially during periods when PINT's shares are trading at a discount.

The Investment Manager

 

Importance

The Investment Manager's performance is critical for the Company to deliver its investment strategy successfully and meet its objective of providing shareholders with attractive and consistent returns over the long term.

Board engagement

Maintaining a close and constructive working relationship with the Investment Manager is crucial as the Board and the Investment Manager both aim to achieve consistent, longterm returns in line with the Company's investment strategy. Important components in the collaboration with the Investment Manager, representative of the Company's culture, are:

·     encouraging an open discussion with the Investment Manager, including adopting a tone of constructive challenge;

·     the interests of the Company, shareholders and the Investment Manager are, for the most part, well aligned, and recognising any instances where that might change;

·     thorough review of the Investment Manager's performance, including adherence to the investment policy and strategy, and considering the terms of engagement;

·     drawing on Directors' individual experience and knowledge to support and challenge the Investment Manager in its monitoring of Portfolio Companies and engagement with Sponsors; and

·     willingness to make the Directors' experience available to support the Investment Manager in the longterm development of its business, recognising that the longterm health of the Investment Manager's business is in the interests of shareholders in the Company.

 

Sponsors/Portfolio Companies

 

Importance

PINT's investment strategy is focused on backing Sponsors who create sustainable value in the underlying Portfolio Companies. The Investment Manager has extensive networks and relationships with Sponsors globally, which gives the Company access to attractive investment opportunities.       

Board engagement

The Board receives updates at each scheduled Board meeting from the Investment Manager on specific investments, including regular valuation reports and detailed portfolio and returns analyses. The Board also makes an active effort to better understand the Portfolio Companies, and in 2023, the Directors undertook a site visit to Alhama de Murcia, headquarters of Primafrio, a European leader in logistics and transport of temperature-controlled goods. More details of Pantheon's engagement with Sponsors and due diligence of Portfolio Companies through the investment process and its investment strategies can be found above and on pages 52 to 55 of the full Annual Report and Accounts and in the Investment Manager's report. Pantheon engages with Sponsors on a daytoday basis. Details of how Pantheon carries out portfolio management, as well as information on how Sponsors consistently transform companies to create longterm value, can be found in the Investment Manager's report above and on pages 12 to 18 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

The Administrator, the Company Secretary, the Registrar, the Depositary and the Broker

 

Importance

In order to function as an investment trust with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, the Company relies on a diverse range of advisers for support in meeting all its relevant obligations.   

Board engagement

The Board maintains regular contact with its key external providers and receives regular reports from them, both through Board and Committee meetings, as well as outside the regular meeting cycle. Their advice, as well as their needs and views, are routinely taken into account. The Board (through the Management Engagement Committee) formally assesses the performance, fees and continuing appointment of key service providers to ensure that they continue to function at an acceptable level and are appropriately remunerated to deliver the expected level of service.

 

The environment and society

 

Importance

The Board of PINT believes that sound ESG practices and operating sustainably are integral to building a resilient infrastructure business and creating long-term value for our shareholders and other stakeholders. Investing responsibly in infrastructure is central to PINT's business model.   

Board engagement

The Board (through the ESG & Sustainability Committee) works closely with Pantheon and, despite the fact that its level of control over investments is limited, seeks, through its Investment Manager and the Sponsors, to encourage and influence investee companies to improve their ESG performance.

 

Full details of the Investment Manager's approach to ESG can be found above and on pages 58 to 62 of the full Annual Report and Accounts . Details of the activities of the Company's ESG & Sustainability Committee can be found on pages 94 to 95 of the full Annual Report and Accounts , and PINT's inaugural Sustainability Report for 2022 can be accessed on PINT's website at www.pantheoninfrastructure.com.

 

Lenders

 

Importance

Availability of funding is crucial to PINT's ability to take advantage of investment opportunities as they arise, as well as to meet any future unfunded commitments.

Board engagement

During the year, the Board decided to increase the RCF and engaged regularly with the Investment Manager throughout the process. More details on the RCF increase can be found above and on page 33 of the full Annual Report and Accounts . The Company aims to demonstrate to its facility providers, Lloyds and RBSI, that it is a wellmanaged business, capable of consistently delivering longterm returns. Regular dialogue between the Investment Manager and lenders is crucial to supporting the Company's relationship with them.

 

Regulators

 

Importance

The Company can only operate as an investment trust and a premium listed company if it conducts its affairs in compliance with applicable rules and regulations. Regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have a legitimate interest in how PINT operates in the market and treats its shareholders.       

Board engagement

The Board regularly considers how it meets various regulatory and statutory obligations and how any governance decisions it makes can have an impact on its stakeholders, both in the shorter and in the longer term. The Board receives reports from its third-party providers, including the Investment Manager and the Company Secretary, on the Company's compliance and considers any inspections or reviews that are commissioned by regulatory bodies.

 

 

The mechanisms for engaging with stakeholders are kept under review by the Directors and are discussed on a regular basis at Board meetings to ensure that they remain effective. Examples of the Board's principal decisions during the year, how the Board fulfilled its duties under section 172, and the related engagement activities, are set out below:

 

Principal decision

Longterm impact

Stakeholder considerations

and engagement

Outcome

Increase in the RCF

In line with its agreed approach to balance sheet management, PINT increased its multi-currency RCF during the year. This provides additional flexibility to manage PINT's balance sheet to support continued NAV growth.

Effective engagement with Lloyds and RBSI was key to agreeing the increase to the facility. The Board considers that the additional liquidity available for working capital, and to support further investments in highquality infrastructure assets from PINT's nearterm investment pipeline, will help support the Company's growth while also maintaining a robust balance sheet.

Following extensive discussions by the Board throughout the period, on 7 June 2023 PINT announced that it had agreed an increase to its multicurrency RCF of £52.5 million for an aggregate commitment of £115 million with Lloyds and RBSI.

Establishing a share buyback programme

When the Company's share price trades at a material discount to NAV, the Board considers that share price to undervalue PINT's portfolio and prospects.

The Directors considered a number of factors when debating the introduction of a buyback programme, including the availability of funding; current investment opportunities; market conditions; and the likely impact on future NAV growth. The Board made its decision following hearing the views of, and feedback from, shareholders, as well as the advice of our broker and the Manager, because the Board believes that seeking to address the discount is important to the Company and our investors.

On 31 March 2023 the Company announced the commencement of a share buyback programme up to a total consideration of £10 million. By the end of December 2023, the Company had purchased over 7 million shares.

 

The Board considers that, in some circumstances, share buybacks can be an attractive use of capital, which can be balanced with retaining sufficient capital to access the attractive pipeline of investment opportunities.

 

 

Establishing an ESG & Sustainability Committee

Sub-committees of the Board enable greater focus to be provided to areas judged to be of importance to the longterm success of the Company.

The Board recognises the importance of ESG to our shareholders and other stakeholders. Based on feedback from investors, and given the Directors' appetite and keen focus on ESG, the Board decided that a dedicated Committee would be a more suitable approach of overseeing ESG matters.

On 10 July 2023 the Board formally established an ESG & Sustainability Committee of the Company, chaired by Ms Finegan. The report from the Committee can be found on page 94 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

 

 

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

 

Integrity, objectivity and accountability are embedded in the Company's approach to risk management.

 

Patrick O'Donnell Bourke

Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee

 

The Company is exposed to a variety of risks and uncertainties and the Board is ultimately responsible for the risk management of the Company. It seeks to achieve an appropriate balance between mitigating risk and generating long-term sustainable risk-adjusted returns for shareholders. Integrity, objectivity and accountability are embedded in the Company's approach to risk management. The Board exercises oversight of the risk framework, through its Audit and Risk Committee, and has undertaken a robust assessment and review of the principal risks facing the Company, including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.

 

The Company is reliant on the risk management frameworks of the Investment Manager and other key service providers, as well as on the risk management operations of each Portfolio Company. The Board manages risks through reports from the Investment Manager and other service providers and through regular updates on the operational and financial performance of Portfolio Companies.

 

For each risk, and for emerging risks, the likelihood and consequences are identified, and the management controls and frequency of monitoring are confirmed and reviewed during Audit and Risk Committee meetings. Please see below a summary of the principal risks and their mitigation.

 

Risk management procedure

Risk appetite

Risk identification and assessment

Control and mitigation

Monitoring and reporting

 

RISK

DESCRIPTION OF RISK

MITIGATION

Market conditions

Higher

 

·     Macroeconomic or market volatility, as the result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, presents a significant threat to the global economy, resulting in a potential combination of high inflation, interest rates and uncertain supply chains, which flows through to pricing, valuations and Portfolio performance.

·     Change in foreign exchange rates may affect the value of the Company's investments.

·     Recession in Europe, the US or the UK could impact the growth prospects of one or more of the Portfolio Companies.

·     Rising inflation and interest rates may lead to higher financing costs for a Portfolio Company, which could adversely impact its profits.

·     Discount rates used in the valuation of investments may need to increase in line with the interest rate environment.

·     The Company targets a diversified infrastructure programme with exposures across sectors and geographies; historically, infrastructure subsectors have exhibited low to moderate correlation of returns relative to one another.

·     The Company monitors the impact of geopolitical trends on the overall Portfolio as well as on individual sectors and companies.

·     The Company has a foreign exchange hedging programme in place.

·     Portfolio Companies could put in place inflation protection by seeking to include inflation adjustment mechanisms in their contracts.

·     Certain Portfolio assets already provide inflation protection via contracted revenues linked to inflation.

·     Portfolio Companies could also put in place interest rate hedges.

·     Discount rates are reviewed regularly as part of quarterly valuations.

 

Political and regulatory changes

Level

 

·     Political actions and regulatory changes may adversely impact the operating and revenue structure of Portfolio Companies.

·     Complexity of government regulatory standards may result in litigation/disputes over interpretation and enforceability.

·     The Company predominantly targets investments in North America, Europe and Australasia which have broadly stable legal, political and regulatory regimes.

·     The Investment Manager conducts due diligence on the regulatory risks of a prospective Portfolio Company to ensure protections in the underlying contracts are in place.

 

Operational performance

Level

·     A fall in demand for the Portfolio Companies' services or products or an increase in their input costs. A Portfolio Company's revenue is exposed to market supply and demand forces. Falls in demand or cost increases that are respectively below or above the levels used in underlying valuation assumptions could lead to adverse financial performance of the Portfolio Company.

·     The Investment Manager conducts sensitivity analysis and demand stress testing in its due diligence for assets.

·     The Company co-invests alongside experienced Sponsors who work closely with the management teams of each Portfolio Company.

·     The investment strategy is to target assets that have the majority of their cash flows protected through contractual structures, which limits demand risk.

 

Returns target

Level

·     The Company may not meet its investment objective; this could result in returns being materially lower than targeted and dissatisfied investors.

·     The Investment Manager adheres to the investment policy and criteria when making investment decisions.

·     The Board reviews the investment performance of the Company on a quarterly basis to ensure adherence to the investment policy.

 

Investor sentiment

Higher

·     The Company's share price has fallen below its NAV, which is currently preventing new equity capital raises. An inability to raise new equity capital is inhibitive to scaling the Portfolio.

·     Alternative forms of capital such as debt can be considered.

·     Opportunistic sale of targeted existing assets.

·     The Company has put in place a share buyback programme and has been buying back shares.

·     The Investment Manager constantly targets new shareholders.

 

Lack of suitable investment opportunities

Level

·     Unavailability of appropriate investments to acquire due to unfavourable deal terms.

·     Reinvestment risk which could arise from delayed redeployment of any proceeds from the sale of assets.

·     The Board reviews investment guidelines and will make appropriate recommendations to shareholders if it believes changes are needed.

·     The Investment Manager seeks to continue actively sourcing appropriate investments by engaging with Sponsors and negotiate coinvestment rights when committing capital to the Sponsors' underlying funds.

·     The demand and need for infrastructure should ensure continuing deal flow.

 

Liquidity management, including level and cost of debt

Level

·     Failure to manage the Company's liquidity position, including cash and credit facilities, could result in insufficient liquidity to pay dividends and operating expenses or to make new or support existing investments.

·     High levels and cost of debt within the Company and/or the special purpose vehicles which invest in the Portfolio Companies could result in covenant breaches and/or increased volatility in the Company's NAV.  

·     Regular reporting of current and projected liquidity, under both normal and stress conditions.

·     Liquidity availability is assessed during the allocation of new investment opportunities.

·     The Board and Investment Manager review Company debt levels and covenants, on a quarterly basis, to ensure they stay within the leverage cap that has been established to limit exposure to debtrelated risks.

·     Debt levels within Portfolio Companies are reviewed by the Investment Manager as part of due diligence.

 

Portfolio concentration risk

Reducing

·     Portfolio concentration risk in relation to exposure to individual assets, operators, geographies and asset types. This could impact NAV and ultimately affect the Company's targeted rate of return.   

·     The Board conducts quarterly reviews of the investment portfolio against the Company's investment policy and criteria.

·     Investment restrictions outlined in the investment policy are designed to reduce portfolio concentration risk.

·     The Company currently has a balanced portfolio of 13 investments across the infrastructure sub-sectors it targets.

 

Investment Manager

Level

·     An overreliance on the Investment Manager. A failure of the Investment Manager to retain or recruit appropriately qualified personnel, or put in place an appropriate succession plan, may have a material adverse effect on the Company's overall performance.

·     The Board performs an ongoing review of the Investment Manager's performance in addition to a formal annual review.

·     Pantheon continues to invest in its talent and regularly considers succession planning.

 

Tax status and legislation

Level

·     Failure to observe requirements to maintain investment trust tax status in the UK.

·     Failure to understand tax risks when investing or divesting could lead to tax exposure or financial loss.

·     The Board, through the Company Secretary, ensures that the Company meets the criteria to maintain the current investment trust status of the Company.

·     The Board has engaged a third party to provide taxation advice and Pantheon's investment process incorporates the assessment of tax.

 

Thirdparty providers

Level

·     Poor performance by thirdparty service providers could result in an inability to perform key functions (e.g. reporting, record keeping etc.) effectively. This could result in loss of Company information, errors in published information or damage to its reputation.               

·     The Board reviews and signs off contractual arrangements with all key service providers.

·     The Board reviews the performance of key service providers annually.

Cyber security

Level

·     Cyber security risk which could arise from reputational damage from theft or loss of confidential data through cyber hacking.   

·     The Audit and Risk Committee reviews service providers' cyber security arrangements, controls and business continuity processes to ensure any data loss is mitigated and reputational damage is minimised.

Climate change

Level

·     Climate change causing physical and transition risks could impact the financial performance of the Portfolio. Physical risks arising from extreme weather events could impact the operations of a Portfolio Company. In addition, transition risk in terms of policy, legal, technological, market and reputation risks could negatively impact the operations of the assets.

·     The Investment Manager conducts due diligence in relation to climate change matters before making investment decisions.

·     The Company invests in assets with strong management teams that have a long track record of actively managing physical risks such as maintenance schedules.

·     The Company has in place an ESG & Sustainability Policy, including taking account of sector exclusions.

 

 

 

 

 

Viability Statement

 

Period of assessment

Pursuant to provision 31 of the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018, and the AIC Code of Corporate Governance, the Board has assessed the viability of the Company over a threeyear period from 31 December 2023. The Directors consider that a threeyear period to December 2026 is appropriate for assessing the Company's viability. There is greater predictability of the Company's cash flows over that time period and increased uncertainty surrounding economic, political and regulatory changes over the longer term.

 

The Company has a diverse Portfolio of infrastructure investments, expected to produce cash distributions which cover costs, and eventually expected to cover the Company's dividend target as the Portfolio matures. The defensive nature of the Portfolio and of the essential services that the businesses in which the Company invest provide to their customers, are being demonstrated in the current climate, with infrastructure assets providing strong downside protection across market cycles given the regulated and highly contracted nature of cash flows, which typically offer strong inflation protection.

 

Against this background, in making their assessment, the Directors reviewed the reports of the Investment Manager in relation to the resilience of the Company, taking account of its current position, the principal risks facing it in a downside scenario due to the geopolitical uncertainties as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including disruption to the supply chain and increases in the cost of living as a result of this conflict, inflationary expectations, interest rate rises and, the impact of climate change on the Company's portfolio. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the effectiveness of any mitigating actions and the Company's risk appetite were also considered as part of the various downside liquidity scenario modelling carried out, after which the Directors came to their conclusion as to the Company's viability over the three year period.

 

The Investment Manager considers the future cash requirements of the Company before acquiring or funding investments in Portfolio Companies. Furthermore, the Board receives regular updates from the Investment Manager on the Company's cash and debt position, which allows the Board to maintain its fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders and, if required, limit funding for existing commitments.

 

The Board considered the Company's viability over the three year period based on a working capital model prepared by the Investment Manager. The working capital model forecasts key cash flow drivers such as capital deployment rate, investment returns and operating expenses. In connection with the preparation of the working capital model, no capital raises were assumed to occur during the threeyear period.

 

The results of stress testing showed that the Company would be able to withstand the impact of various scenarios occurring over the three-year period. The Directors also considered the Company's position with reference to its investment trust structure, its business model, its business objectives, the principal risks and uncertainties as detailed above and on pages 69 to 71 of the full Annual Report and Accounts and its present and projected financial position. As part of the overall assessment, the Directors took into account the Investment Manager's culture, which emphasises collaboration and accountability, the Investment Manager's conservative approach to balance sheet management, and its emphasis on investing with underlying Sponsors that are focused on generating outperformance.

 

To support their statement, the Directors also took into account the nature of the Company's business, including the available liquidity, the potential of its portfolio of investments to generate future income and capital proceeds, and the ability of the Directors to minimise the level of cash outflows, if necessary. Based on the above assessment, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the three-year period to December 2026.

 

On behalf of the Board

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair

2 April 2024

 

 

 

 

Board of Directors

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair and Nomination Committee Chair

Appointed to the Board 4 October 2021

 

Mr Vagn Sørensen is an experienced nonexecutive chair and director of listed and private companies.

 

After attending Aarhus Business School and graduating with a MSc degree in Economics and Business Administration, Mr Sørensen began his career at Scandinavian Airlines Systems in Sweden, rising through numerous positions in a 17year career before becoming Deputy CEO with special responsibility for Denmark. Between 2001 and 2006, Mr Sørensen served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Austrian Airlines Group in Austria, a business with approximately €2.5 billion of turnover, 8,000 employees and listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

 

Mr Sørensen also served as Chair of the Association of European Airlines in 2004. Since 1999, Mr Sørensen has been a Tier 1 senior industrial adviser to EQT, a private equity sponsor, and has been a nonexecutive director or Chair of a number of their Portfolio Companies. Since 2008, Mr Sørensen has been a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley Investment Bank.

 

Mr Sørensen is currently Chair of Air Canada (since 2017) and a nonexecutive director of CNH Industrial and Royal Caribbean Cruises. Previous nonexecutive appointments have included Chair of SSP Group (2006-2020), Chair of Scandic Hotels AB (20072018), Chair of TDC A/S (20062017) and Chair of FLSmidth & Co (20092022).

 

Anne Baldock

Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee

Appointed to the Board 4 October 2021

 

Ms Anne Baldock is an experienced board member and lawyer with over 30 years' experience in the infrastructure sector.

 

Ms Baldock graduated in law from the London School of Economics and was a qualified Solicitor in England and Wales from 1984 to 2012. Ms Baldock was a Partner at Allen & Overy LLP between 1990 and 2012, during which time she was Managing Partner, Projects Group London (19952007), member of the firm's Global/Main Strategic Board (20002006) and Global Head of Projects, Energy and Infrastructure (20072012).

 

Notable transactions included the Second Severn Crossing, Eurostar, the securitisation of a major UK water utility and several major PPP projects in the UK and abroad.

 

Ms Baldock's current roles include Senior Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for East West Railway Company Limited (the Governmentowned company constructing the new Oxford to Cambridge railway) and nonexecutive director of Electricity North West Limited. Ms Baldock also serves as the Senior Independent Director, as well as Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees, of the Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority Limited (the delivery body created by Parliament to deal with the restoration of the Houses of Parliament). Among her previous roles, Anne served as a nonexecutive director of Thames Tideway Tunnel, nonexecutive director of Hydrogen Group (AIMlisted) and a Trustee of Cancer Research UK.

 

Andrea Finegan

Management Engagement Committee and ESG & Sustainability Committee Chair

Appointed to the Board 4 October 2021

 

Ms Andrea Finegan is an experienced infrastructure asset management professional with over 30 years of sector experience.

 

After graduating from Loughborough University, Ms Finegan held investment banking roles at Deutsche Bank and Barclays Capital, before joining Hyder Investments as Head of the Deal Closing Team. Between 1999 and 2007, Ms Finegan worked at Innisfree Limited, the investment manager of an £8 billion infrastructure asset portfolio, latterly as Board Director and Head of Asset Management. Ms Finegan subsequently served as Chief Operating Officer, ING Infrastructure Funds and Fund Consultant to Climate Change Capital.

 

In 2012 Ms Finegan joined Greencoat Capital LLP for the set up and launch of Greencoat UK Wind Plc, the renewable infrastructure investment trust, then, in 2013, became Chief Operating Officer until 2018, a position that included structuring and launching another renewable energy infrastructure fund listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Dublin (Greencoat Renewables Plc) and a number of private markets solar energy funds.

 

Ms Finegan is currently Chair of the Valuation Committee of Schroders Greencoat LLP, a role she has held since 2015, and independent consultant to the board of Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited, working closely with the ESG & Stakeholder Committee and the Risk Committee.

 

Patrick O'Donnell Bourke

Audit and Risk Committee Chair

Appointed to the Board 4 October 2021

 

Mr Patrick O'Donnell Bourke is an experienced board member with more than 28 years of experience in energy and infrastructure.

 

After graduating from Cambridge University, Mr O'Donnell Bourke started his career at Peat Marwick, Chartered Accountants (now KPMG) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. After that he held a variety of investment banking positions at Hill Samuel and Barclays de Zoete Wedd. In 1995, he joined Powergen Plc, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions before becoming Group Treasurer. In 2000, Mr O'Donnell Bourke joined Viridian Group Plc as Group Finance Director and later became Chief Executive, appointed by the private equity shareholder following takeover in 2006.

 

In 2011, he joined John Laing Group, a specialist international investor in, and manager of, greenfield infrastructure assets where he served as CFO until his retirement in 2019. While at John Laing, he was part of the team which launched the John Laing Environmental Assets Fund on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

 

Mr O'Donnell Bourke currently serves as Chair of Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust Plc and as Chair of the Audit Committee of Harworth Group Plc (a leading UK regenerator of land and property for development and investment). Mr O'Donnell Bourke was previously Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee at Calisen Plc (an owner and operator of smart meters in the UK) and Chair of the Audit Committee at Affinity Water.

 

 

 

Extracts from the Directors' report

 

Share capital and voting rights

The rights attaching to the Company's shares are set out in the Company's Articles of Association. Further details can be found in Note 16 of the financial statements. As at 31 December 2023 and as at the date of this report, the Company's share capital is as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Total number

 

 

 

 

of shares in

 

Number of

Voting rights

Number of

issue (including

Share capital and voting rights

shares in circulation

attached to each share

shares held in treasury

shares held in treasury)

As at 31 December 2023

472,615,000

1

7,385,000

480,000,000

As at 2 April 2024

469,550,000

1

10,450,000

480,000,000

 

There are no restrictions on the free transferability of the shares, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and provisions in the Articles entitling the Board to decline to register certain transfers in a limited number of circumstances, such as where the transfer might cause the Company to be subject to or operate in accordance with applicable US laws. The powers of the Directors are detailed in the Company's Articles and are subject to relevant legislation and, in certain circumstances (including in relation to the issuing or buying back the Company of its shares), are subject to the authority being given to the Directors by PINT's shareholders.

 

Prior to the Company's listing on 13 October 2021, in accordance with the Articles the Directors were authorised to allot up to a maximum of two billion Ordinary and/or C Shares and to disapply preemption rights in respect of those Ordinary and/or C shares, with the authority expiring on 13 October 2024. To date, no shares have been allotted under this authority, and the Directors propose to replace this authority with a general authority to allot new shares up to approximately 33.33% of the issued share capital of the Company at PINT's forthcoming AGM in June 2024. The Directors will also propose a resolution to grant the Company the authority to disapply pre-emption rights, which would enable the Board to issue ordinary shares for cash, without preemption rights applying, of up to approximately 10% of the Company's issued share capital.

 

An authority to repurchase up to 14.99% of the Company's issued share capital to be held in treasury or for cancellation was granted to the Directors on 30 March 2023. Given a challenging period for many infrastructure investment companies, and PINT's shares trading at a material discount to NAV, on 31 March 2023 the Board announced its intention to commence a share buyback programme up to a total consideration of £10 million.

 

The Directors considered that the share price at which the Company's Shares were trading materially undervalued PINT's portfolio and prospects, and in April 2023 begun buying back shares. During 2023, the Company purchased a total of 7,385,000 Ordinary Shares of 1p each (nominal value of £73,850) at a total cost of £5.79 million (at a weighted average price of £0.78 per share), representing c. 1.5% of the Company's issued share capital. All purchased shares are kept in treasury. As at 31 December 2023, the Company had a remaining authority to purchase a further 64,567,000 shares; this authority will expire at the conclusion of the 2024 AGM, and the Board intends to propose a resolution to renew this authority at the forthcoming AGM in June 2024.

 

Going concern

The Company's business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position, including its financial position, are set out in the strategic report and Investment Manager's report. The Directors have made an assessment of going concern, taking into account both the Company's financial position at the balance sheet date and the expected performance of the Company, using the information available up to the date of issue of the financial statements.

 

Total available financing as at 31 December 2023 stood at £144.4 million, comprising £29.4 million in available cash balances and £115.0 million through the Company's RCF, which matures in March 2027. The Company maintains a policy to hold liquidity sufficient to cover all future operating and financial commitments due in the next twelve months. This includes all forecast operating costs, anticipated dividend payments, foreign exchange hedge settlements due (based on marktomarket valuations), and all unfunded investment commitments which could be called during the period as detailed in the Cash and liquidity management section above and on page 33 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

As part of the going concern review, the Directors considered different downside scenarios and their potential impact on PINT's liquidity. The scenarios modelled included varying degrees of decline in investment valuations and other key drivers such as: a slower deployment rate; lower than expected investment returns; higher than expected operating expenses; and absence of equity capital raises, realisations and distribution payments. The Company has several ways in which it could limit or mitigate the impact these possible developments could have on the balance sheet, including drawing on the RCF, which includes the provision of additional liquidity for working capital.

 

After due consideration of the activities of the Company, its assets, liabilities, commitments and financial resources, the Directors concluded that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operation for at least twelve months from the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023. For this reason, the Board considers it appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

 

 

Directors' Responsibility statement

 

The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law they have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and UK Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company as at the end of each financial year and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period.

 

In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

 

·     present a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the Company;

·     select suitable accounting policies in accordance with FRS 102 and then apply them consistently;

·     present information, including accounting policies, in a manner that provides relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable information;

·     make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

·     state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

·     prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.

 

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

 

The Directors are also responsible for preparing the strategic report, the Directors' report, the Directors' remuneration report, the Corporate Governance Statement and the report of the Audit and Risk Committee in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and applicable regulations, including the requirements of the Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. The Directors have delegated responsibility to the Investment Manager for the maintenance and integrity of the Company's corporate and financial information included on the Company's website (www.pantheoninfrastructure.com). Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

 

Each of the Directors, whose names are listed above and on pages 74 and 75 of the full Annual Report and Accounts, confirms that to the best of his or her knowledge:

 

·     the financial statements, prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Company; and

·     the management report, which is incorporated in the strategic report and Directors' report, includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.

 

The UK Corporate Governance Code requires Directors to ensure that the annual report and financial statements are fair, balanced and understandable. In order to reach a conclusion on this matter, the Board has requested that the Audit and Risk Committee advises on whether it considers that the annual report and financial statements fulfil these requirements. The process by which the Audit and Risk Committee has reached these conclusions is set out in its report on pages 85 to 89 of the full Annual Report and Accounts . As a result, the Board has concluded that the annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's position and performance, business model and strategy.

 

Signed on behalf of the Board by

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair

2 April 2024

 

 

NON-STATUTORY ACCOUNTS

The financial information set out below does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the period ended 31 December 2023 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for the year ended December 2023 will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course. The Auditors have reported on those accounts; their report was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the Auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and (iii) did not contain a statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. The text of the Auditors' report can be found in the Company's full Annual Report and Accounts at www.pantheoninfrastructure.com.

 

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

Income Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2023

 

 

 

For the year ended 31 December 2023

9 September 2021 to 31 December 2022

 

 

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

 

Note

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Gain on investments at fair value through profit or loss1

10

-

44,298

44,298

-

19,592

19,592

Gains/(losses) on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss

13

-

12,081

12,081

-

(8,520)

(8,520)

Foreign exchange gains on cash and non-portfolio assets

 

-

77

77

-

5

5

Investment management fees

2

(4,939)

-

(4,939)

(3,194)

-

(3,194)

Other expenses

3

(1,702)

(157)

(1,859)

(1,360)

(555)

(1,915)

(Loss)/profit before financing and taxation

 

(6,641)

56,299

49,658

(4,554)

10,522

5,968

Finance income

5

3,109

-

3,109

2,096

-

2,096

Interest payable and similar expenses

6

(1,484)

-

(1,484)

(36)

-

(36)

(Loss)/profit before taxation

 

(5,016)

56,299

51,283

(2,494)

10,522

8,028

Taxation

7

(1,697)

-

(1,697)

-

-

-

(Loss)/profit for the period, being total comprehensive income for the period

 

(6,713)

56,299

49,586

(2,494)

10,522

8,028

Earnings per share - basic and diluted

8

(1.40)p

11.79p

10.39p

(0.58)p

2.45p

1.87p

1. Includes foreign exchange movements on investments.

 

The Company does not have any income or expense that is not included in the return for the year, therefore the return for the year is also the total comprehensive income for the year. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are prepared under guidance published in the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) issued by the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). The total column of the statement represents the Company's statement of total comprehensive income prepared in accordance with FRS 102.

 

All revenue and capital items in the above statement relate to continuing operations.

 

The Notes below and on pages 117 to 135 of the full Annual report and Accounts form part of these financial statements.

 

 

 

Statement of changes in equity

For the year ended 31 December 2023

 

Movement for the year ended 31 December 2023

Note

Share

Capital

£'000 

Share
premium

£'000

Capital redemption reserve1

£'000

Capital

reserve1

£'000

Revenue reserve1

£'000

Total
£'000

Balance at 1 January 2023

 

 4,800

 79,449

 382,484

 10,522

(2,494)

 474,761

Share issue costs

 

-

(187)

-

-

-

(187)

Ordinary Shares bought back and held in treasury

16

-

-

(5,789)

-

-

(5,789)

Share buyback costs

 

-

-

(35)

-

-

(35)

Dividends paid

9

-

-

(14,303)

-

-

(14,303)

Profit/(loss) for the period

 

-

-

-

56,299

(6,713)

49,586

Closing equity shareholders' funds

 

 4,800

 79,262

 362,357

66,821

(9,207)

504,033

                                                                                                               

Movement for the period 9 September 2021 to 31 December 2022

 

Balance at 9 September 2021

 

-

-

-

-

-

-

Share issue costs

 

-

(9,267)

-

-

-

(9,267)

Ordinary Shares issued

16

4,800

395,200

-

-

-

400,000

Subscription shares issued (subsequently converted to Ordinary Shares)

16

-

80,800

-

-

-

80,800

Cancellation of share premium

 

-

(387,284)

387,284

-

-

-

Dividends paid

9

-

-

(4,800)

-

-

(4,800)

Profit/(loss) for the period

 

-

-

-

10,522

(2,494)

8,028

Closing equity shareholders' funds

 

4,800

79,449

382,484

10,522

(2,494)

474,761

1. The capital redemption reserve, capital reserve and revenue reserve are all the Company's distributable reserves. The capital redemption reserve arose from the cancellation of the Company's share premium account in 2022 and is a distributable reserve. The Company is also able to distribute realised gains from the capital reserve. As at 31 December 2023, there were £nil reserves available for distribution from this reserve.

 

The Notes below and on pages 117 to 135 of the full Annual Report and Accounts form part of these financial statements.

 

 

 

Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2023

 

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

 

2023

2022

 

Note

£'000

£'000

Fixed assets

 

 

 

Investments at fair value

10

471,668

 301,382

Debtors

11

 609

 740

Current assets

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments

13

 4,447

-

Debtors

11

 817

 959

Cash and cash equivalents

12

 29,361

 182,937

 

 

 34,625

 183,896

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments

13

-

(1,983)

Other creditors

14

(2,309)

(2,737)

 

 

(2,309)

(4,720)

Net current assets

 

 32,316

 179,176

Total assets less current liabilities

 

504,593

 481,298

Creditors: amounts falling due after one year

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments

13

(560)

(6,537)

Net assets

 

504,033

 474,761

Capital and reserves

 

 

 

Called-up share capital

16

 4,800

 4,800

Share premium

17

 79,262

 79,449

Capital redemption reserve

17

 362,357

 382,484

Capital reserve

17

66,821

 10,522

Revenue reserve

17

(9,207)

(2,494)

Total equity shareholders' funds

 

504,033

 474,761

NAV per Ordinary Share

18

 106.6p

 98.9p

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Pantheon Infrastructure Plc on 2 April 2024 and were authorised for issue by:

 

Vagn Sørensen

Chair

Company Number: 13611678

 

The Notes below and on pages 117 to 135 of the full Annual Report and Accounts form part of these financial statements.

 

 

 

Cash flow Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2023

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Cash flow from operating activities

 

 

Investment management fees paid

(4,810)

(1,994)

Operating expenses paid

(1,403)

(1,581)

Other cash payments

(259)

(110)

Net cash outflow from operating activities

(6,472)

(3,685)

Cash flow from investing activities

 

 

Purchase of investments

(130,300)

(283,031)

Return of capital

 2,615

 1,241

Derivative financial instruments loss on settlements

(326)

-

Net cash outflow from investing activities

(128,011)

(281,790)

Cash flow from financing activities

 

 

Share issue proceeds

-

 480,800

Share issue costs

(187)

(9,267)

Share buyback costs

(5,619)

-

Dividends paid

(14,303)

(4,800)

Loan facility arrangement fee

(1,889)

-

Loan facility commitment fee

(620)

-

Finance costs

(2)

(1)

Finance income

 3,450

 1,675

Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities

(19,170)

 468,407

(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents in the period

(153,653)

 182,932

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

 182,937

-

Foreign exchange gains

 77

 5

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

 29,361

 182,937

The Notes below and on pages 117 to 135 of the full Annual Report and Accounts form part of these financial statements.

 

 

 

 

Notes to the financial statements

 

1. Accounting policies

Pantheon Infrastructure Plc (the 'Company') is a listed closedended investment company incorporated in England and Wales on 9 September 2021, with registered "company number" 13611678. The Company began trading on 15 November 2021 when the Company's Ordinary Shares were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange. The registered office of the Company is Link Company Matters Limited, 6th Floor, 65 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NQ.

 

A. Basis of preparation

The Company's financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102 as it applies to the financial statements of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2023. They have been prepared under the historical cost basis of accounting, modified to include the revaluation of certain assets at fair value. They have also been prepared on the assumption that approval as an investment trust will continue to be granted. The Company's audited financial statements are presented in GBP and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds (£'000) except when indicated otherwise.

 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the SORP for the financial statements of investment trust companies and venture capital trusts issued by the AIC in July 2022.

 

The financial statements comprise the results of the Company only. The Company has control over two subsidiaries, further details of which are given in Note 20. Where the Company owns a subsidiary that is held as part of the investment portfolio, the Company excludes it from consolidation. As the value of such subsidiaries to the Company is through fair value rather than as the medium through which the group carries out business, they are measured at fair value in accordance with 9.9C(a) of FRS 102.

 

The Company was incorporated on 9 September 2021 and a set of accounts to 31 December 2022 was filed, therefore the period from 9 September 2021 to 31 December 2022 has been presented as the comparative. Thus the comparative information may not present a representative comparative.

 

B. Going concern

The Directors have made an assessment of going concern, taking into account the Company's current performance and financial position as at 31 December 2023.

 

In addition, the Directors have assessed the outlook, which considers the ongoing geopolitical uncertainties including disruption to global supply chains, increases in the cost of living, persistent inflation, interest rate rises and the impact of climate change on the Company's portfolio using the information available up to the date of issue of the financial statements. The Directors have also considered the impact of climate change on PINT's portfolio and have come to the conclusion that there is no significant negative impact on the Company as a result of climate change, during the going concern period.

 

In reaching this conclusion, the Board considered budgeted and projected results of the business, including projected cash flows, various downside modelling scenarios and the risks that could impact the Company's liquidity.

 

Having performed their assessment, the Directors considered it appropriate to prepare the financial statements of the Company on a going concern basis. The Company has sufficient financial resources and liquidity, is well placed to manage business risks in the current economic environment, and can continue operations for a period of at least twelve months from the date of issue of these financial statements.

 

C. Segmental reporting

The Directors are of the opinion that the Company is engaged in a single segment of business, being investment in infrastructure to generate investment returns while preserving capital. The financial information used by the Directors and Investment Manager to allocate resources and manage the Company presents the business as a single segment comprising a diversified portfolio of infrastructure investments.

 

D. Investments

The Company's underlying assets comprise unlisted investments, the majority of which are held through its subsidiary, Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings LP (PIH LP) with one investment held directly. While the Company operates a robust and consistent valuation process, there is significant estimation uncertainty in the underlying asset valuations which are estimated at a point in time. Accordingly, while relevant information relating to but received after the measurement date is considered, the Directors will only consider an adjustment to the financial statements if it were to have a significant impact and is indicative of conditions present at the measurement date.

 

The Company has fully adopted sections 11 and 12 of FRS 102. All investments held by the Company are classified as 'fair value through profit or loss'. The Company's business is investing in infrastructure assets with a view to profiting from their total return in the form of interest, dividends or increases in fair value. The investments are recognised at fair value on initial recognition represented by the cost of acquisition and the Company manages and evaluates the performance of its investments on a fair value basis.

 

Upon initial recognition, investments held by the Company are classified 'at fair value through profit or loss'. All gains and losses are allocated to the capital column within the Income statement as 'Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss'. When a purchase or sale is made under a contract, the terms of which require delivery within the time frame of the relevant market, the investments concerned are recognised or derecognised on the trade date. Subsequent to initial recognition, investments are valued at fair value through profit or loss. The fair values for the Company's investments are established by the Directors after discussion with the Investment Manager using valuation techniques in accordance with the International Private Equity and Venture Capital (IPEV) guidelines. Valuations are based on periodic valuations provided by the Sponsors of the investments and recorded up to the measurement date. Such valuations are necessarily dependent upon the reasonableness of the valuations by the Sponsor of the underlying assets. In the absence of contrary information the values are assumed to be reliable.

 

The Sponsor is usually the best placed party to determine the appropriate valuation. The annual and quarterly reports received from the Sponsors are reviewed by the Investment Manager to ensure consistency and appropriateness of approach to reported valuations.

 

The basis of valuation for infrastructure assets provided by the Sponsors depends on the nature of the underlying assets and will typically involve a fair value approach in line with recognised accounting standards and industry best practice guidelines such as IPEV. Infrastructure assets often display particular characteristics which affect the valuation approach, tending to result in a higher prevalence of discounted cash flows in the valuation, where the fair value is estimated by deriving the present value of the expected cash flows generated by the investment through the use of reasonable assumptions such as appropriate discount rate(s) to reflect the inherent risk of the asset(s) forming the investment.

 

The discounted cash flow basis requires assumptions to be made regarding future cash flows, terminal value and the discount rate to be applied to these cash flows. There is also consideration given to the impact of wider megatrends such as the transition to a lower-carbon economy and climate change.

 

The fair value will generally reflect the latest valuations available from the Sponsor which may not coincide with the Company's reporting date. In such cases the Investment Manager performs a roll forward from the latest available valuation to the relevant reporting date. The roll forward process takes consideration of the following factors:

 

i.      transactions and foreign exchange movements in the intervening period; and

ii.     adjustments for expected performance of the investment in the intervening period.

 

The process may also include, but not be limited to, in consultation with the Sponsor, changes in multiples/discount rates, asset fundamentals (for instance operating performance) and the macroeconomic environment.

 

On an annual basis the Investment Manager receives annual audited financial statements from the Sponsors of the asset. The Investment Manager utilises the audited accounts to gain comfort that the underlying infrastructure asset is fair valued in line with recognised accounting standards and audited by a recognised auditor. This is in addition to the analysis performed by the Investment Manager to determine the reasonableness of the valuation and that it is appropriate to the investment and performance thereof.

 

If the Sponsor does not provide audited financial statements, to the extent that the Board of the Company or the Investment Manager deem it appropriate, and it is possible to do in conjunction with the Sponsor, the valuation of the underlying infrastructure asset is independently verified. The scope of this verification is determined on a case-by-case basis and, dependent on the asset, could include an independent valuation report from a valuation provider engaged by the Investment Manager. The Investment Manager then analyses the independent valuation report to determine the reasonableness of the valuation and that it is appropriate to the investment and performance thereof before presenting to the Investment Manager's Valuation Committee and the Board for approval.

 

E. Financial instruments

The Company makes investments and has commitments in currencies other than GBP, its reporting currency, and accordingly, a significant proportion of its investments and cash balances are in currencies other than GBP. The Company uses forward foreign currency exchange contracts to hedge foreign exchange risks associated with its underlying investment activities. The contracts entered into by the Company are denominated in the currency of the geographic area in which the Company has significant exposure against its reporting currency.

 

Forward foreign currency exchange contracts are initially recognised and subsequently measured at fair value.

 

The Company uses valuation techniques that are appropriate in the circumstances and for which sufficient data is available to measure fair value, maximising the use of relevant observable inputs and minimising the use of unobservable inputs significant to the fair value measurement as a whole. The Company has elected not to apply hedge accounting and therefore changes in the fair value of forward foreign currency exchange contracts are recognised within the capital column of the Income statement in the period in which they occur.

 

F. Income

Distributions receivable from investments are recognised on the appropriate ex-dividend date. Where no exdividend date is quoted, distributions are recognised when the Company's right to receive payment is established. Overseas dividends are gross of the appropriate rate of withholding tax, with any withholding tax suffered being accounted for separately.

 

Other income is accounted for on an accruals basis.

 

G. Expenses

All expenses are accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenses, including investment management fees, are charged through the revenue account, except expenses which are incidental to the acquisition or disposal of an investment. These are treated as capital costs, separately identified, and charged to the capital account of the Income statement.

 

H. Finance income

Finance income comprises interest received on funds invested into deposit accounts. Finance income is accounted for on an accruals basis.

 

I. Finance costs

Finance costs consist of interest and other costs that the Company incurs in connection with bank and other borrowings. Finance costs also include the amortisation charge of arrangement fees or other costs associated with the set-up of borrowings; these are amortised over the period of the loan. All other finance costs are expensed in the period in which they occur.

 

J. Taxation

Corporation tax is recognised in profit or loss except to the extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity, in which case it is recognised in equity.

 

Deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for taxation purposes. The amount of deferred tax that is provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities, using tax rates enacted or substantially enacted at the period end date.

 

Deferred tax is not provided on capital gains and losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of investments because the Company meets (and intends to continue for the foreseeable future to meet) the conditions for approval as an investment trust company, pursuant to sections 1158 and 1159 of the CTA.

 

Deferred tax assets are only recognised if it is considered more likely than not that there will be suitable profits from which the future reversal of timing differences can be deducted.

 

K. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks and other shortterm highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less at the date of placement, free of any encumbrances, which are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and subject to insignificant risk of changes in value.

 

L. Debtors

Trade and other debtors are initially recognised at transaction value. Subsequent measurement is at the initially recognised value less any cash payments from the debtor, and less provision or write off for doubtful debts. A provision is made where there is objective evidence that the Company will not be able to recover balances in full. Any adjustment is recognised in profit or loss as an impairment gain or loss.

 

M. Creditors

Trade and other creditors are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently held at amortised cost.

 

N. Interest-bearing loans and liabilities

All bank borrowings are initially recognised at transaction value net of attributable transaction costs. After initial recognition, all bank borrowings are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

 

O. Dividends payable to shareholders

Equity dividends are recognised when they become legally payable. Interim equity dividends are recognised when paid. Final equity dividends are recognised when approved by shareholders at an Annual General Meeting.

 

P. Share premium

The share premium account represents the accumulated premium paid for shares issued above their nominal value less issue expenses. This is a reserve forming part of the non-distributable reserves. The following items are taken to this reserve:

 

·     costs associated with the issue of equity; and

·     premium on the issue of shares.

 

Q. Capital redemption reserve

The capital redemption reserve represents cancelled share premium less dividends paid from this reserve. This is a distributable reserve. This reserve also includes the cost of acquiring the Company's Ordinary Shares if the Company is in a position to buy back shares.

 

R. Capital reserve

The following are accounted for in this reserve:

 

·     gains and losses on the realisation of investments;

·     unrealised gains and losses on investments;

·     gains and losses on foreign exchange forward contracts;

·     realised foreign exchange differences of a capital nature; and

·     expenses, together with related taxation effect, charged to this reserve in accordance with the above policies.

 

The Company is able to distribute realised gains from this reserve.

 

S. Revenue reserve

The revenue reserve represents the surplus of accumulated profits from the revenue column of the Income statement and is distributable.

 

T. Foreign exchange

The functional and presentational currency of the Company is GBP because it is the primary currency in the economic environment in which the Company operates and, as a UK listed company, GBP is also its capital raising currency. Transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded in the local currency at actual foreign exchange rates as at the date of transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the period end are reported at the rates of foreign exchange prevailing at the period end. Any gain or loss arising from a change in exchange rates subsequent to the date of the transaction is included as a foreign exchange gain or loss in the revenue or capital column of the Income statement depending on whether the gain or loss is of a capital or revenue nature. For nonmonetary assets these are recognised as fair value adjustments.

 

U. Significant judgements, estimates and assumptions

The preparation of financial statements requires the Company and Investment Manager to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of investments at fair value at the financial reporting date and the reported fair value movements during the reporting period. Uncertainty about these assumptions and estimates could result in outcomes that require a material adjustment to the carrying amount of the investments at fair value in future years. Details of how the fair values of infrastructure assets are estimated and any associated judgements applied are provided in Note 22.

 

 

2. Investment management fees

 

 

Year ended 31 December 2023

Period ended 31 December 2022

 

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Investment management fees

 4,939

-

 4,939

3,194

-

3,194

 

 4,939

-

 4,939

3,194

-

3,194

The Investment Manager is entitled to a quarterly management fee at an annual rate of:

 

·     1.0% of the part of the Company's net asset value up to and including £750 million; and

·     0.9% of the part of such net asset value in excess of £750 million.

 

As at 31 December 2023, £1,329,000 (31 December 2022: £1,200,000) was owed for investment management fees.

 

The Investment Manager does not charge a performance fee.

 

 

3. Other expenses

 

 

Year ended 31 December 2023

Period ended 31 December 2022

 

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Secretarial and accountancy services

215

-

215

201

-

201

Depositary services

77

-

77

74

-

74

Fees payable to the Company's Auditor for audit-related assurance services

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Initial accounts

-

-

-

25

-

25

- Annual financial statements

150

-

150

135

-

135

Fees payable to the Company's Auditor for non-audit related assurance services1

35

-

35

35

-

35

Directors' remuneration (see Note 4)

180

-

180

220

-

220

Employer's National Insurance

21

-

21

24

-

24

Legal and professional fees

102

151

253

186

534

720

VAT irrecoverable

367

-

367

9

-

9

Other fees

555

6

561

451

21

472

 

1,702

157

1,859

1,360

555

1,915

1.The non-audit fees payable to the Auditor relate to the review of the Company's June 2023 half-yearly report.

 

 

4. Directors' remuneration

A breakdown of Directors' emoluments is provided in the Directors' remuneration report on pages 96 to 100 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.

 

 

5. Finance income

 

 

Year ended

Period ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Finance income

82

73

Bank interest

3,027

2,023

Total

3,109

2,096

 

 

6. Interest payable and similar expenses

 

 

Year ended

Period ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Commitment fees payable on borrowings

913

22

Amortisation of loan facility arrangement fee

569

13

Bank interest expense

2

1

 

 1,484

36

 

 

7. Taxation

                                                                           Year ended 31 December 2023             Period ended 31 December 2022

 

 

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Withholding tax deducted from investment distributions

1,697

-

1,697

-

-

-

 

Tax charge from investments

The tax charge for the year differs from the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 19% to 31 March 2023, rising to 25% from 1 April 2023, giving a weighted average for the year of 23.5% (31 December 2022: 19%). The differences are explained below:

 

 

Year ended 31 December 2023

Period ended 31 December 2022

 

 Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

 

£'000 

 £'000

 £'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Net return before tax

(5,016)

 56,299

51,283

(2,494)

10,522

8,028

Tax at UK corporation tax rate at 23.5% (2022: 19%)

(1,179)

 13,230

12,051

(474)

1,999

1,525

Non-taxable investment, derivative and currency gains

-

(13,230)

(13,230)

-

(1,999)

(1,999)

Carry forward management expenses

 1,179

-

1,179

474

-

474

Withholding tax deducted from investment distributions

1,697

-

1,697

-

-

-

 

 1,697

-

 1,697

-

-

-

 

Factors that may affect future tax charges

The Company is an investment trust and is therefore not subject to tax on capital gains. Deferred tax is not provided on capital gains and losses arising on the revaluation or disposal of investments because the Company meets (and intends to meet for the foreseeable future) the conditions for approval as an investment trust. No deferred tax asset has been recognised in respect of excess management expenses and expenses in excess of taxable income as they will only be recoverable to the extent that there is sufficient future taxable revenue.

 

As at 31 December 2023, excess management expenses are estimated to be in excess of £8.22 million (2022: £3.05 million).

 

At 31 December 2023, the Company had no unprovided deferred tax liabilities.

 

 

8. Earnings per share

Earnings per share (EPS) are calculated by dividing profit for the year attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Company by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during the period. As there are no dilutive instruments outstanding, both basic and diluted earnings per share are shown below:

 

Year ended

 

 

 

31 December 2023

Revenue

Capital

Total

Earnings for the year to 31 December 2023 (£'000)

(6,713)

56,299

49,586

Weighted average Ordinary Shares (number)

 

 

 477,411,877

Basic and diluted earnings per share

(1.40)p

11.79p

10.39p

 

Period 9 September 2021 to 31 December 2022

Revenue

Capital

Total

Earnings for the period (£'000)

(2,494)

10,522

8,028

Weighted average Ordinary Shares (number)1

 

 

428,272,575

Basic and diluted earnings per share

(0.58)p

2.45p

1.87p

 

There were no meaningful shareholders or corporate activity between incorporation of the Company on 9 September 2021 and 16 November 2021, the IPO date, and therefore this period has not been included for the purpose of calculating the weighted average number of shares.

 

 

9. Dividends paid

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:

 

 

Year ended

Period ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Second interim dividend for the period ended 31 December 2022 of 1p (2022: nil) per Ordinary Share

 4,800

-

First interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 of 2p (2022: 1p) per Ordinary Share

 9,503

 4,800

 

 14,303

 4,800

 

On 21 March 2024 the Company declared a second interim dividend of 2p per Ordinary Share, which will be paid on 23 April 2024.

 

 

10. Investments

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Cost brought forward

 281,790

-

Opening unrealised appreciation on investments held

 

 

- Unlisted investments

 19,592

-

- Listed Investments

-

-

Valuation of investments brought forward

 301,382

-

Movement in period:

 

 

Acquisitions at cost

128,603

281,790

Capital distributions - proceeds

(2,615)

-

Appreciation on investments held

44,298

19,592

Valuation of investments at period end

471,668

301,382

Cost at year end

407,778

281,790

Closing unrealised appreciation on investments held

 

 

- Unlisted investments

63,890

19,592

- Listed investments

-

-

Valuation of investments at period end

471,668

301,382

 

 

11. Debtors

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Other debtors - non-current1

609

740

Other debtors - current

698

486

Prepayments and accrued income

119

473

 

1,426

1,699

1. Relates to loan arrangement fees paid up front which are to be released to the Income statement until the loan maturity date of 18 December 2025.

 

 

12. Cash and cash equivalents

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Cash

11,649

26,670

Cash equivalents

17,712

156,267

 

29,361

182,937

 

Cash equivalents of £17,712,000 were held in a money market fund at 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022: £156,267,000).

 

 

13. Derivative financial instruments

 

 

Year ended

Period ended

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

At the beginning of the period

(8,520)

-

Unrealised gains/(losses) on derivative financial instruments

12,407

(8,520)

At the end of the period

3,887

(8,520)

 

 

 

Realised loss on settlement of derivative financial instruments

(326)

-

Total gain/(losses) on derivative financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss

12,081

(8,520)

 

The Company uses forward foreign exchange contracts to minimise the effect of fluctuations in the value of the investment portfolio from movements in exchange rates.

 

As at 31 December 2023, there were 20 contracts due to expire in the next twelve months with a valuation of £4,447,000 (31 December 2022: three contracts valued at a liability of £1,983,000). The remaining contracts due to expire after the twelve months following the period end were valued as a liability of £560,000 (31 December 2022: £6,537,000 liability).

 

The fair value of these contracts is recorded in the Balance sheet. No contracts are designated as hedging instruments and consequently all changes in fair value are taken through profit or loss.

 

As at 31 December 2023, the notional amount of the forward foreign exchange contracts held by the Company was £340.3 million (31 December 2022: £278.9 million).

 

 

14. Other creditors

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Investment management fees payable

 1,329

1,200

Other creditors and accruals

 980

1,537

 

 2,309

2,737

 

 

15. Interest-bearing loans and borrowings

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Interest-bearing loans and borrowings

-

-

Loan arrangement fee brought forward

 1,087

-

Loan arrangement fee incurred in the period

 788

1,100

Loan arrangement fee amortised for the period

(569)

(13)

Loan arrangement fee carried forward

 1,306

1,087

Total credit facility payable

-

-

 

The Company entered into a £62.5 million RCF with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in December 2022. In June 2023, this was increased by £52.5 million, bringing the RCF total to £115 million. As part of the increase, the Company sought to diversify the lender group through the introduction of The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited alongside Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets.

 

The RCF is denominated in GBP, with the option to be utilised in other major currencies. The rate of interest is the relevant currency benchmark plus an initial margin of 2.85% per annum, reducing to 2.65% once certain expansion thresholds have been met. A commitment fee of 1.00% per annum is payable on undrawn amounts, and the tenor of the RCF as at 31 December 2023 was three years from December 2022. The facility is secured against the assets held in the Company's subsidiary, Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings LP.

 

As at 31 December 2023 the RCF was undrawn.

 

Borrowing costs associated with the RCF are shown as interest payable and similar expenses in Note 6 to these financial statements.

The loan arrangement fee of £1,306,000 carried forward at 31 December 2023 (2022: £1,087,000) is included within Debtors, Note 11 to these financial statements.

 

The debt facility includes loan to value covenants. The Company has complied with all covenants throughout the financial period.

 

 

16. Called-up share capital

 

 

31 December 2023

31 December 2022

Allotted, called up and fully paid:

Shares

£'000

Shares

£'000

Ordinary Shares of £0.01

 

 

 

 

Opening balance

 480,000,000

 4,800

-

-

Ordinary Shares issued in the period

-

-

 400,000,000

 4,000

Conversion of Subscription Shares in the period

-

-

 80,000,000

 800

Closing balance

 480,000,000

 4,800

 480,000,000

 4,800

Subscription shares of £0.01

 

 

 

 

Opening balance

-

-

-

-

Subscription Shares issued in the period

-

-

 80,000,000

 800

Conversion of Subscription Shares in the period

-

-

(80,000,000)

(800)

Closing balance

-

-

-

-

Treasury shares

 

 

 

 

Opening balance

-

-

-

-

Shares bought back in the year

 (7,385,000)

(74)

-

-

Closing balance

 (7,385,000)

(74)

-

-

Total Ordinary Share capital excluding treasury shares

472,615,000

4,726

480,000,000

4,800

 

During the year to 31 December 2023, 7,385,000 Ordinary Shares were bought back in the market, and are held in treasury (31 December 2022: nil) at a total cost, including stamp duty, of £5,824,000.

 

 

17. Reserves

 

 

 

Capital

 

 

 

 

Share

redemption

Capital

Revenue

 

 

premium

reserve

reserve

reserve

Total

Year ended 31 December 2023

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Opening balance

 79,449

 382,484

 10,522

(2,494)

 469,961

Ordinary Shares bought back and held in treasury

-

(5,824)

-

-

(5,824)

Share issue costs

(187)

-

-

-

(187)

Gains on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss

-

-

12,081

-

12,081

Gains on investments at fair value through profit or loss

-

-

44,298

-

44,298

Foreign exchange differences on cash and non-portfolio assets

-

-

77

-

77

Legal and professional expenses charged to capital

-

-

(151)

-

(151)

Other fees

-

-

(6)

 

(6)

Revenue loss for the period

-

-

-

(6,713)

(6,713)

Dividends in the period

-

(14,303)

-

-

(14,303)

Closing balance

79,262

 362,357

66,821

(9,207)

499,233

 

 

 

Capital

 

 

 

 

Share

redemption

Capital

Revenue

 

 

premium

reserve

reserve

reserve

Total

Period ended 31 December 2022

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Opening balance

-

-

-

-

-

Ordinary Shares issued

395,200

-

-

-

395,200

Subscription shares issued (subsequently converted to

 

 

 

 

 

Ordinary Shares)

80,800

-

-

-

80,800

Share issue costs

(9,267)

-

-

-

(9,267)

Cancellation of share premium

(387,284)

387,284

-

-

-

Losses on derivative financial instruments at fair value

 

 

 

 

 

through profit or loss

-

-

(8,520)

-

(8,520)

Gains on investments at fair value through profit or loss

-

-

19,592

-

19,592

Foreign exchange gains on cash and cash equivalents

-

-

5

-

5

Legal and professional expenses charged to capital

-

-

(534)

-

(534)

Other fees

-

-

(21)

-

(21)

Loss for the period

-

-

-

(2,494)

(2,494)

Interim dividend paid

-

(4,800)

-

-

(4,800)

Closing balance

79,449

382,484

10,522

(2,494)

469,961

 

The Company is able to distribute realised gains from the capital reserve. As at 31 December 2023 there were £nil reserves available for distribution from this reserve (31 December 2022: £nil).

 

 

18. Net asset value per share

NAV per share is calculated by dividing net assets in the Balance sheet attributable to ordinary equity holders of the Company by the number of Ordinary Shares in issue less shares held in Treasury at the end of the period. As there are no dilutive instruments outstanding, both basic and diluted NAV per share are shown below:

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

Net assets attributable (£'000)

504,033

474,761

Ordinary Shares in issue excluding shares held in treasury

472,615,000

480,000,000

NAV per Ordinary Share

 106.6p

98.9p

 

 

19. Reconciliation of loss before financing costs and taxation to net cash flows from operating activities

 

 

 

9 September

 

Year to

2021 to

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Profit before financing costs and taxation

49,658

5,968

Gains on investments

(44,298)

(19,592)

Foreign exchange gains on cash and borrowings

(77)

(5)

Decrease/(increase) in operating debtors

122

(182)

Increase in operating creditors

204

1,606

(Gains)/losses on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss

(12,081)

8,520

Net cash flows used in operating activities

(6,472)

(3,685)

 

 

20. Subsidiaries

The Company has two wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company has ownership and control over these two entities and as such they are deemed to be subsidiaries by the Board.

 

Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings LP (PIH LP) was incorporated on 5 November 2021 with a registered address in the State of Delaware, National Registered Agents, Inc., 209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801, and is wholly owned by the Company.

 

The Company holds an investment in PIH LP. In accordance with FRS 102, the Company is exempted from the requirement to consolidate PIH LP on the grounds that its subsidiary is held exclusively with a view to subsequent resale as it is considered part of an investment portfolio.

 

PIH LP holds a portfolio of investments that are measured at fair value. The Company holds a 99.9% investment in PIH LP, with the remaining holding being held by Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings GP LLC (PIH GP).

 

The General Partner for PIH LP is PIH GP. PIH GP was incorporated on 5 November 2021 with a registered address in the State of Delaware, National Registered Agents, Inc., 209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801, and is wholly owned by the Company.

 

PIH GP is immaterial, it is therefore excluded from consolidation.

 

 

21. Contingencies, guarantees and financial commitments

At 31 December 2023 there were capital commitments outstanding of £15.7 million in respect of investments in infrastructure assets (2022: £57.9 million). These commitments will be funded using the Company's financial resources.

 

The Company expects 100% of the capital commitments outstanding to be called within the next twelve months.

 

 

22. Fair value

Fair value hierarchy

Financial assets are carried in the Balance sheet at their fair value or approximation of fair value. The fair value is the amount at which the asset could be sold in an orderly transaction between market participants, at the measurement date, other than a forced liquidation sale.

 

The Company measures fair values using the following fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making the measurements. Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the relevant assets as follows:

 

Level 1: Quoted (unadjusted) market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

 

Level 2: Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is directly or indirectly observable.

 

Level 3: Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement is unobservable.

 

For assets and liabilities that are recognised in the financial statements on a recurring basis, the Company determines whether transfers have occurred between levels in the hierarchy by reassessing categorisation at the end of each reporting period.

 

Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss at 31 December 2023

 

 

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Investments

-

-

471,668

471,668

Derivatives - financial instruments

-

3,887

-

3,887

 

-

3,887

471,668

475,555

 

Financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss at 31 December 2022

 

 

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

 

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Investments

-

-

301,382

301,382

Derivatives - financial instruments

-

(8,520)

-

(8,520)

 

-

(8,520)

301,382

292,862

 

The fair value of these investments and derivatives - financial instruments is recorded in the Balance sheet as at the year end.

 

There have been no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 during the year, nor have there been any transfers between Level 2 and Level 3.

 

The carrying amount of all assets and liabilities, detailed within the Balance sheet, is considered to be the same as their fair value.

 

The majority of the assets held within Level 3 are valued on a discounted cash flow basis, hence, the valuations are sensitive to the discount rate assumed for each asset. The assets are held through the Company's subsidiary, PIH LP, with one investment held directly. Other significant unobservable inputs include the inflation rate assumption and the interest rate assumption used to project the future cash flows and the forecast cash flows themselves. Increasing the discount rate used in the valuation of each asset by 0.5% would reduce the value of the Portfolio by £4.2 million (31 December 2022: £10.5 million). Decreasing the discount rate used in the valuation of each asset by 0.5% would increase the value of the Portfolio by £4.6 million (31 December 2022: £11.2 million). The WADR of the Portfolio at 31 December 2023 was 13.6% (31 December 2022: 14.2%).

 

The majority of assets held within Level 3 have revenues that are linked, partially linked or in some way correlated to inflation. The impact of increasing the inflation rate assumption by 0.5% would increase the value of the Portfolio by £2.4 million (31 December 2022: £3.7 million). Decreasing the inflation rate assumption used in the valuation of each asset by 0.5% would decrease the value of the Portfolio by £2.2 million (31 December 2022: £2.6 million).

 

The valuations are sensitive to changes in interest rates. These comprise a wide range of interest rates from short-term deposit rates to

longer-term borrowing rates across a broad range of debt products. Increasing the interest rate assumption for each asset by 0.5% would reduce the value of the Portfolio by £1.7 million (31 December 2022: £5.9 million). Decreasing the interest rate assumption used in the valuation of each asset by 0.5% would increase the value of the Portfolio by £1.9 million (31 December 2022: £6.0 million). This calculation does not take account of any offsetting factors which may be expected to prevail if interest rates changed, including the impact of inflation discussed above.

 

 

23. Analysis of financial assets and liabilities

The primary investment objective of the Company is to seek to maximise long-term capital growth for its shareholders by investing in equity or equity-related investments in a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets. Investments are not restricted to a single market but are made when the opportunity arises and on an international basis.

 

The Company's financial instruments comprise securities and other investments, cash balances and debtors and creditors that arise from its operations, for example sales and purchases awaiting settlement and debtors for accrued income.

 

The principal risks the Company faces in its portfolio management activities are:

 

·     liquidity risk;

·     interest rate risk;

·     credit risk;

·     market price risk; and

·     foreign currency risk.

 

The Investment Manager monitors the financial risks affecting the Company on a daily basis and the Directors regularly receive financial information, which is used to identify and monitor risk.

 

In accordance with FRS 102, an analysis of financial assets and liabilities, which identifies the risk to the Company of holding such items, is given below.

 

Liquidity risk

Due to the nature of the Company's investment policy, the largest proportion of the portfolio is invested in unquoted securities, many of which are less readily marketable than, for example, "blue-chip" UK equities. The Directors believe that the Company, as a closed-end listed fund with no fixed wind-up date, is ideally suited to making long-term investments in instruments with limited marketability. The investments in unquoted securities are monitored by the Board on a regular basis.

 

As a result, the Company may not be able to quickly liquidate its investments at an amount close to their fair value in order to meet its liquidity requirements, including the need to meet outstanding undrawn commitments. The Company manages its liquid investments to ensure sufficient cash is available to meet contractual commitments and also seeks to have cash available to meet other short-term financial needs.

 

As at 31 December 2023, liquidity risk was considered low given the cash available to the Company and the headroom on its undrawn RCF.

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Cash and cash equivalents

29,361

182,937

Current debtors

817

959

Other creditors

(2,309)

(2,737)

 

27,869

181,159

 

As at 31 December 2023, capital commitments outstanding totalled £15.7 million (31 December 2022: £57.9 million), therefore liquid resources available after commitments were £12.2 million (31 December 2022: £184.8 million).

 

Interest rate risk

Interest rate movements may affect the level of income receivable on cash deposits and interest payable on variable rate borrowings. Cash deposits generally comprise overnight call or short-term money market deposits and earn interest at floating rates based on prevailing bank base rates.

 

Interest rate movements may affect the interest rate paid on financial liabilities. Interest on RCF drawings is payable at an initial margin of 2.85% above the relevant benchmark rate, reducing to 2.65% once certain expansion thresholds have been met. As at 31 December 2023 the RCF was fully undrawn.

 

Increases or decreases in interest rates over the medium term may also affect the discount rates at which investments are valued.

 

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will cause a financial loss to the Company by failing to discharge its obligations to the Company when they fall due.

 

All cash deposits are placed with approved counterparties, all of whom have a credit rating of A- or above.

 

At the year end, the Company's financial assets exposed to credit risk amounted to the following:

 

 

31 December

31 December

 

2023

2022

 

£'000

£'000

Cash and cash equivalents

29,361

182,937

 

Market price risk

The fair value of future cash flows of a financial instrument held by the Company may fluctuate due to changes in market prices of comparable businesses. This market risk may comprise: currency risk, interest rate risk and/or fair value risk. The Board of Directors reviews and agrees policies for managing these risks. The Investment Manager assesses the exposure to market risk when making each investment decision, and monitors the overall level of market risk across all of the Investment Manager's investments on an ongoing basis.

 

The nature of the Company's investments means that they are valued by the Directors after due consideration of the most recent available information.

 

If the Portfolio valuation at 31 December 2023 fell by 20%, with all other variables held constant, this would have led to a reduction of £94.3 million in the return before taxation. An increase of 20% would increase the return before taxation by an equal and opposite amount.

 

Foreign exchange risk

The Company makes investments and has commitments in currencies other than GBP, its reporting currency, and, accordingly, a significant proportion of its investments and cash balances are in currencies other than GBP. Therefore, the Company's NAV is sensitive to movements in foreign exchange rates.

 

The Investment Manager monitors the Company's exposure to foreign currencies and reports to the Board on a regular basis.

 

The Company uses derivative financial instruments such as forward foreign currency contracts to manage the currency risks associated with its underlying investment activities. Contracts entered into by the Company are denominated in the foreign currency of the geographic areas in which the Company has significant exposure against its reporting currency. The contracts are used for hedging and the fair values thereof are recorded in the Balance sheet as other financial liabilities held at fair value. Unrealised gains and losses are taken to capital reserves.

 

The table below sets out the Company's foreign exchange exposure:

 

 

GBP

USD1

EUR1

Total

Foreign exchange risk

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

At 31 December 2023

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 26,588

 2,490

 283

29,361

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

 80,598

239,228

151,842

471,668

Other debtors

 1,426

-

-

1,426

Other payables

(2,309)

-

-

(2,309)

Derivatives - financial assets

-

2,253

1,634

3,887

 

106,303

243,971

153,759

504,033

 

 

GBP

USD1

EUR1

Total

Foreign exchange risk

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

At 31 December 2022

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

181,987

828

122

182,937

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

-

217,282

84,100

301,382

Other debtors

1,699

-

-

1,699

Other payables

(2,737)

-

-

(2,737)

Derivatives - financial liabilities

(8,520)

-

-

(8,520)

 

172,429

218,110

84,222

474,761

1. These values are expressed in GBP.

 

If there had been an increase/(decrease) in the GBP/USD exchange rate of 10%, it would have the effect of (decreasing)/increasing equity shareholders' funds by £(24.4) million/£24.4 million (2022: £(6.8) million/£8.3 million), which includes the impact of the foreign currency exchange contracts to partially offset the movement in value. The calculations are based on the financial assets and liabilities and the foreign exchange rate as at 31 December 2023 of 1.27479 GBP/USD (2022: 1.2029 GBP/USD).

 

If there had been an increase/(decrease) in the GBP/EUR exchange rate of 10%, it would have the effect of (decreasing)/increasing equity shareholders' funds by £(15.4) million/£15.4 million (2022: £3.1 million/£(3.7) million), which includes the impact of the foreign currency exchange contracts to partially offset the movement in value. The calculations are based on the financial assets and liabilities and the foreign exchange rate as at 31 December 2023 of 1.15403 GBP/EUR (2022: 1.1271 GBP/EUR).

 

Managing capital

The Company's equity comprises Ordinary Shares as described in Note 16. Capital is managed so as to maximise the return to shareholders while maintaining a capital base that allows the Company to operate effectively and sustain future development of the business.

 

The Company considers its capital to comprise called-up share capital and net available cash.

 

The Company's capital requirement is reviewed regularly by the Board of Directors.

 

 

24. Transactions with the Investment Manager and related parties

The amounts paid to the Investment Manager, together with the details of the Investment Management Agreement, are disclosed in Note 2. The Company's related parties are its Directors. The fees paid to the Company's Board are disclosed in the Directors' remuneration report on pages 96 to 100 of the full Annual Report and Accounts. There were no outstanding amounts due for Directors' fees as at 31 December 2023 (2022: £nil).

 

 

25. Post balance sheet events

Buybacks

Since the year end, the Company has bought back 3.1 million Ordinary Shares at a total cost of £2.6 million.

 

Revolving credit facility

On 18 March 2024 the Company agreed an extension to its £115 million RCF, resetting its maturity to March 2027.

 

 

 

 

AIFMD disclosures

 

The Company is an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) for the purposes of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive

(Directive 2011/61/EU) (AIFMD), and the Investment Manager was appointed as its Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) for the purposes of the AIFMD. The Investment Manager is a 'full scope' AIFM for the purposes of the AIFMD. The AIFMD requires certain disclosures to be made in the annual report of the Company. Many of these disclosures are already required by the Listing Rules and/or UK Accounting Standards, and these continue to be presented in other sections of the annual report, principally the strategic report, the Investment Manager's report (above and on pages 20 to 37 of the full Annual Report and Accounts) and the financial statements (above and pages 106 to 135). This section completes the disclosures required by the AIFMD.

 

Assets subject to special arrangements

The Company holds no assets subject to special arrangements arising from their illiquid nature.

 

Remuneration disclosure

The total number of staff of the Investment Manager as at 31 December 2023, including staff remunerated by affiliates of the Investment Manager, was approximately 457, of whom 23 were senior management or other members of staff whose actions have a material impact on the risk profile of the Company ('identified staff'). The total remuneration paid by the Investment Manager and its affiliates to staff of the Investment Manager in respect of the year ended 31 December 2023 attributable to work relating to the Company was as follows:

 

 

12 months to 31 December 2023

12 months to 31 December 2022

£'000

Fixed

Variable

Total

Fixed

Variable

Total

Senior management

73

109

182

70

96

166

Staff

235

144

379

190

143

333

Total staff

308

254

562

260

238

499

Identified staff

42

58

100

44

61

105

 

No carried interest was paid in respect of the Company during the period.

 

The above disclosures reflect only that element of the individuals' remuneration which is attributable to the activities of the Investment Manager relating to the Company. It is not possible to attribute remuneration paid to individual staff directly to any fund and hence the above figures represent a notional approximation only calculated by reference to the assets under management of the Company as a proportion of the total assets under management of the Pantheon Group.

 

In determining the remuneration paid to its staff, the Investment Manager takes into account a number of factors including the performance of the Company, the Investment Manager and each individual member of staff. These factors are considered over a multi-year framework and include whether staff have met the Investment Manager's compliance standards. In addition, the Investment Manager seeks to ensure that its remuneration policies and practices align financial incentives for staff with the risks undertaken and results achieved by investors, for example by ensuring that a proportion of the variable income received by identified staff is deferred for a period of at least three years.

 

Full details of the Pantheon Group's remuneration policies and practices for staff (which includes the Investment Manager's staff) can be found at www.pantheon.com.

 

The AIFMD requires the Investment Manager of the Company to set leverage limits for the Company. For the purposes of the AIFMD, leverage is any method by which the Company's exposure is increased, whether through the borrowing of cash or by the use of derivatives or by any other means. The AIFMD requires leverage to be expressed as a ratio between the Company's exposure and its NAV and prescribes two methodologies, the gross method and the commitment method (as set out in Commission Delegated Regulation No. 231/2013), for calculating such exposure.

 

The following leverage limits have been set for the Company:

 

i.      the maximum leverage of the Company calculated in accordance with the gross method (under Article 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation No.231/2013) is 450%; and

ii.     the maximum leverage of the Company calculated in accordance with the commitment method (under Article 8 of the AIFMD Regulation) is 450%.

 

Using the methodologies prescribed under the AIFMD, the Company's leverage as at 31 December 2023 is shown below:

 

 

 

Commitment

 

Gross method

method

Leverage ratio

202%

100%

 

There have been no changes to the maximum level of leverage which the Investment Manager may employ on behalf of the Company during the year to 31 December 2023. There are no collateral or asset reuse arrangements in place as at the year end.

 

Risk profile and risk management

The principal risks to which the Company is exposed to and the approach to managing those risks are set out in the strategic report (above and on pages 68 to 71 of the full Annual Report and Accounts) and also in Note 23 to the financial statements (above and on pages 132 to 135 of the full Annual Report and Accounts). The investment restrictions which seek to mitigate some of those principal risks in relation to the Company's investment activities are set out in the investment policy (above and on page 39 of the full Annual Report and Accounts) and under 'Board responsibilities and relationship with the Investment Manager' in the Statement on Corporate Governance (page 79 to 84 of the full Annual Report and Accounts). Additionally, the individual counterparty exposure limit for deposits with each of the Company's bank counterparties has been set at c.£135 million or the equivalent in foreign currencies. The Investment Manager's risk management system incorporates regular review of the principal risks facing the Company and the investment restrictions applicable to the Company. The Investment Manager has established appropriate internal control processes to mitigate the risks, including those described in the 'Mitigation' column in the 'Principal risk and uncertainties' section of the strategic report (above or pages 68 to 71of the full Annual Report and Accounts). These investment restrictions were not exceeded in the year to 31 December 2023.

 

Article 23(1) disclosures to investors

The AIFMD requires certain information to be made available to investors in the Company before they invest and requires that material changes to this information be disclosed in the annual report of the Company. The information required to be disclosed is contained in the document 'Information for Investors', which is available on the Company's website at www.pantheoninfrastructure.com. There have been no material changes to this information requiring disclosure.

 

 

 

Glossary

 

AGM

Annual General Meeting.

 

AIC

The Association of Investment Companies.

 

AIC Code

The AIC Code of Corporate Governance.

 

AIFM

Alternative Investment Fund Manager.

 

Approved investment trust company

An approved investment trust company is a corporate UK tax resident which fulfils particular UK tax requirements and rules which include that for the Company to undertake portfolio investment activity it must aim to spread investment risk. In addition, the Company's shares must be listed on an approved stock exchange. The 'approved' status for an investment trust must be authorised by the UK tax authorities and its key benefit is that a portion of the profits of the Company, principally its capital profits, are not taxable in the UK.

 

AUM

Assets under management are the total market value of investments held under management by an individual or institution. When referring to Pantheon's AUM, this figure includes assets managed on a fully discretionary basis.

 

Carbon Disclosure Projects

A not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.

 

Carried interest

Portion of realised investment gains payable to a Sponsor as a profit share.

 

Cloud

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user.

 

Co-investment

Direct shareholding in an investment by invitation alongside a Sponsor.

 

Commitment

The amount of capital that the Company agrees to contribute to an investment when and as called by the Sponsor.

 

Company

Pantheon Infrastructure Plc or 'PINT'.

 

DCF

Discounted Cash Flow.

 

Exit

Realisation of an investment, usually through trade sale, sale by public offering (including IPO), or sale to a financial buyer.

 

Funds under management

Funds under management includes both assets under management and assets under advisory (assets managed on a non-discretionary basis and/or advisory basis).

 

GHG

Greenhouse gas.

 

GIRAC

Pantheon's Global Infrastructure and Real Assets Committee.

 

IEA

International Energy Agency.

 

Initial public offering (IPO)

The first offering by a company of its own shares to the public on a regulated stock exchange.

 

Internet of things

The network of physical objects (things) that are embedded with technologies such as sensors or software for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems via the internet.

 

Investment Manager

Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP.

 

Investment thesis

Pantheon's final stage of approval for infrastructure co-investments.

 

IPEV

International Private Equity and Venture Capital.

 

IRR

Internal rate of return is the annual rate of growth that an investment is expected to generate over its life.

 

Latency

The delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.

 

Market capitalisation

Share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding.

 

Multiple of invested capital (MOIC or cost multiple)

A common measure of private equity performance, MOIC is calculated by dividing a fund's cumulative distributions and residual value by the paidin capital.

 

NAV Total Return

This is expressed as a percentage. It is calculated as the total return as shown in the Income statement, as a percentage of the opening NAV.

 

Net asset value (NAV)

Amount by which the value of assets of a company exceeds its liabilities.

 

PIH LP

Pantheon Infrastructure Holdings LP

 

Portfolio or operating company

A company that PINT invests in. These portfolio or operating companies in turn own and operate infrastructure assets.

 

Primaries

Commitments made to private equity funds at the time such funds are formed.

 

RBS

Royal Bank of Scotland.

 

RCF

Revolving credit facility.

 

Science Based Targets

Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.

 

Secondaries

Purchase of existing private equity fund or company interests and commitments from an investor seeking liquidity in such funds or companies.

 

SFDR

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

 

SMR

Steam methane reforming.

 

Sponsor or general partner

The entity managing a private equity fund that has been established as a limited partnership.

 

TCFD

Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

 

Total return

This is expressed as a percentage. The denominator is the opening NAV, net of the final dividend for the previous year, and adjusted (on a time weighted average basis) to take into account any equity capital raised or capital returned in the year. The numerator is total NAV growth and dividends paid.

 

Total shareholder return

Return based on dividends paid plus share price movement in the period, divided by the opening share price.

 

WADR

Weighted average discount rate based on each investment's relative proportion of Portfolio valuation.

 

 

 

Directors and advisers

 

Directors

Vagn Sørensen (Chair)

Anne Baldock

Andrea Finegan

Patrick O'Donnell Bourke

 

Investment Manager

Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP

Authorised and regulated by the FCA

 

10 Finsbury Square

4th Floor

London

EC2A 1AF

 

Email: pint@pantheon.com

PINT website: www.pantheoninfrastructure.com

Pantheon website: www.pantheon.com

 

Secretary and registered office

Link Company Matters Limited

6th Floor, 65 Gresham Street

London

EC2V 7NQ

 

Telephone: +44 (0)333 300 1950

 

Auditor

Ernst & Young LLP

25 Churchill Place

London

E14 5EY

 

Communications Adviser

Lansons Communications Holdings Limited

24a St John Street

London

EC1M 4AY

 

Broker

Investec Bank plc

30 Gresham Street

London

EC2V 7QP

 

Depositary

BNP Paribas Trust Corporation UK Limited

10 Harewood Avenue

London

NW16 6AA

 

Registrar

Link Group

10th Floor

Central Square

29 Wellington Street

Leeds

LS1 4DL

 

Solicitors

Hogan Lovells International LLP

Atlantic House

Holborn Viaduct

London

EC1A 2FG

 

 

Disclosure 1 - Investments

This annual report provides information about certain investments made by PINT. It should NOT be regarded as a recommendation. Pantheon makes no representation or forecast about the performance, profitability or success of such investments. You should not assume that future investments will be profitable or will equal the performance of past recommendations. The statements made reflect the views and opinions of Pantheon as of the date of the investment analysis.

 

 

FURTHER INFORMATION

PINT's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023 will be available today on www.pantheoninfrastructure.com

Shortly, it will also be submitted in full unedited text to the Financial Conduct Authority's National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism in accordance with DTR 6.3.5(1A) of the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on this announcement (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

ENDS

 

 

 

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