In today's episode we take a close look at the investor’s perspective on the UK’s infrastructure market — and, in particular, what the landmark Final Investment Decision on the new Sizewell C nuclear power station tells us about the appetite, the risks, and the rewards for long-term private capital.

Because, following completion of the deal last month, for the first time, the British public will be co-owners of a nuclear power station, sitting alongside a powerful mix of investors including EDF, Centrica, La Caisse, and Amber Infrastructure. 

And as such I am pleased to be joined today by Jamie Hossain, Senior Investment Director at Amber Infrastructure and lead portfolio manager at International Public Partnerships (INPP), who has been leading their latest 7.6% investment in Sizewell C. 

Amber is the the specialist international investment manager and investment adviser to infrastructure investment company International Public Partnerships Limited (INPP).  As such he gives us his first hand perspective on the deal, what it means for UK infrastructure – and perhaps what is in his future pipeline. 

Sizewell C is one of the most significant new energy projects in a generation — a £38 billion nuclear power station in Suffolk that will be a twin of the Hinkley Point C station now under construction in Somerset and provide reliable, low-carbon electricity for six million homes. It’s also a project that signals a new era for infrastructure investment in the UK. 

Final Investment Decision is significant. Some 70 per cent of construction spend is expected to flow to British businesses, with tens of thousands of jobs created, and £2 billion a year in savings to the electricity system. 

So it’s a project that demonstrates how public and private capital can work hand-in-hand to deliver national benefit.

But what does this mean from the investor’s perspective? How are infrastructure investor's like Amber assessing opportunity and risk and what models offer the right balance of stability, flexibility, and return for future projects?

Resources

• Amber Infrastructure Group
• INPP’s Sizewell C investor presentation
• INPP’s most recent investor factsheet 
• INPP's annual report
• All about the RAB model
• Some INPP case studies 
• An overview of INPP’s portfolio
• The Australian Cobberdog