Following the management buyout of HSBC Specialist Investments and its rebranding as InfraRed Capital Partners, the company now has plans to launch additional funds, InfraRed’s chief executive, Werner von Guionneau, told PropertyEU.

InfraRed, a specialist infrastructure and real estate fund manager, is in the process of capital raising for its third greenfield infrastructure fund, which had its first $580mln closing in March 2010. The fund has a target size of around $1bn. 'We will probably also launch a second Chinese real estate fund as the first fund is almost fully-invested,’ Von Guionneau said.

The fund manager is responsible for more than $4bn of equity in funds that invest in real estate and infrastructure assets developed and operated by InfraRed globally. Of the $4bn of AUM, around 50% is invested in real estate and 50% in infrastructure.

As a ‘value-added’ investor, InfraRed is focusing largely on real estate investment in the UK, Germany and Central and Eastern Europe, Von Guionneau said. On the infrastructure front, InfraRed is targeting greenfield infrastructure projects to create new PPP-type assets in markets such as Europe, Singapore and North America, he added.

The buyout follows an announcement by HSBC last year that it would spin out its private equity fund management business. HSBC Holdings retains a 19.9% stake in the company and remains an important business partner, according to InfraRed.

The full interview with Von Guionneau appears in the June edition of PropertyEU. Click on the link below to subscribe