InfraRed identifies retail investor appetite to invest in UK infrastructure

HICL’s Investment Manager, InfraRed Capital Partners, conducted a survey with retail investors looking at the UK infrastructure investment landscape.

With the UK facing a £615bn¹ funding challenge to meet society’s needs for improving critical infrastructure by 2030, over 70% of the retail investors surveyed think that it will be essential for the new government to harness private capital. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents believe that UK wealth (savings and pension funds) should be used to fuel this investment.

Despite the enthusiasm for infrastructure investment, the survey found that less than half of those investors surveyed (45%) understood that they could invest directly, with only 6% having invested in infrastructure, predominantly through UK market indices such as the FTSE250.

Only a handful of those surveyed are investing directly through listed infrastructure investment companies. This is despite over 5% of the FTSE 250 being made up of infrastructure and renewables investment companies, the majority with direct UK critical infrastructure holdings.

Ross Gurney-Read, Director within HICL’s fund management team shares his thoughts on the results and the impact for the Company.

Methodology: The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 1,000 retail investors in the UK (18+). The data was collected between 5/9/24 and 10/9/24.

^[1] Investment Delivery Forum, UK faces £615 billion infrastructure investment challenge (6 November 2023)