AXA announced today that it has increased its exposure to the infrastructure debt market with a commitment to invest up to €10 billion over the next five years and appointed AXA Real Estate to source and manage those investments.
It is in this context that AXA Real Estate, the real estate arm of AXA Investment Managers, is pleased to announce that it is building up a dedicated team of high profile infrastructure professionals and has appointed Charles Dupont, to head the new infrastructure debt platform. Charles Dupont will report to Isabelle Scemama, who is AXA Real Estate’s Head of Real Asset Finance.
The appointment of AXA Real Estate allows AXA to leverage the strong experience and capabilities of AXA Real Estate’s long established Commercial Real Estate (CRE) debt team, which is already the largest investment manager in CRE debt, with a €7 billion debt platform.
On behalf of AXA, AXA Real Estate aims to underwrite infrastructure loans of up to €500 million backed by assets located in established global economies, with a primary focus on core European economies. AXA Real Estate has already identified a strong pipeline of potential investments.
Charles Dupont has over 15 years of experience in infrastructure markets, both within the private equity side, as well as with major operating infrastructure businesses. Mr Dupont is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. AXA Real Estate intends to further strengthen its Infrastructure team with additional appointments expected in the near future.
Commenting on this investment, Laurent Clamagirand, AXA Group Chief Investment Officer said: “Our decision to increase our exposure to the infrastructure debt asset class is in line with our global investment strategy. It meets our need to find long-term investments and diversify our credit portfolio in order to match the guarantees we offer our clients, and also demonstrates the role insurance companies can play in financing the real economy.”
Pierre Vaquier, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Real Estate commented: “Having established AXA Real Estate’s Commercial Real Estate debt platform in 2005, we are now able to leverage the success and size of that market leading business, to place ourselves at the forefront of the infrastructure debt investment market.
“Charles has extensive expertise in infrastructure with diversified experience from the various sides of the business. I am delighted that he is joining AXA Real Estate, complementing the skills of the teams we have built under Isabelle Scemama’s leadership and is able to contribute to the launch and subsequent development of this new infrastructure debt investment platform.”
Source: FTI Consulting
