Morrison & Co, Craigs raise NZ$141 mln for social infrastructure fund

By Gareth Vaughan The New Zealand Social Infrastructure Fund, a fund set up by Morrison & Co and Craigs Investment Partners to invest in public-private social infrastructure partnerships, has raised NZ$141 million, including NZ$41 million from the public. An initial public offering of shares by NZSIF closed last Friday with NZ$41 million raised from about 750 investors including private investors, community groups, charitable trusts, Maori trust organisations and Craigs Investment Partners. The New Zealand Superannuation Fund had previously committed NZ$100 million to NZSIF, which was established to invest in an investment fund managed by Morrison & Co - the Public Infrastructure Partners LP (PIP Fund). Neil Craig, executive chairman of Craigs Investment Partners and a NZSIF director, said Morrison & Co - which manages Infratil -  is in talks with several large investors. It expects these talks to result in total capital committed to the fund lifting to about NZ$160 million. NZSIF will invest as a Limited Partner in the Public Infrastructure Partners Limited Partnership (the PIP Fund), an institutional fund established to invest in public-private partnerships that provide social infrastructure assets such as schools, hospitals and local government facilities. "The NZSIF board is pleased with the outcome and the widespread investor support shown during challenging market conditions both globally and locally over the last two months. The amount raised represents the largest successful equity raising in New Zealand this year available to the investing public," Craig said. He added it was the first, and perhaps  only, opportunity New Zealand retail investors have to invest in this new asset class. With retail and institutional investor commitments approaching NZ$160 million,  Peter Coman, managing director of the Morrison & Co PIP Fund, said organisers were well on the way to their target of raising over NZ$200 million. The PIP Fund's institutional capital raising process continues until October. The NZSIF board is chaired by former Waste Management managing director Kim Ellis - a cousin of Infratil founder Lloyd Morrison. Also on the board are former Beca Group executive director Ian Fraser as an independent director, Neil Craig and Craigs Investment Partners head of debt capital markets Mike Caird.