Prices have fluctuated since inception, but the trend is towards stability, with an average premium to net asset value of about 10 per cent.
The nature of the business means that capital raising is lumpy, with equity being raised well ahead of the call for investment, so these are the best times for private investors to buy shares.
Initially all these companies bought finished projects with cash flow and returns underwritten by the government. However, as the years went by and projects diminished under austerity, the companies needed to diversify their sources of income – still guaranteed, but sometimes with more local authority involvement and better cover for future inflation.
The biggest are 3i, HICL Infrastructure and International Public Partnerships. All companies are interesting because, theoretically at least, the government is now committed to giving local councils the freedom to initiate their own infrastructure plans – and this promises a more stable and certain flow of projects to be financed by the investment companies.
Investors concerned about yield and capital safety would do well to research their companies thoroughly, either through their own websites or that of a broker such as Numis Securities.
There are many more ways to invest than in bonds or shares, and with governments issuing guarantees and subsidies to avoid admitting that they are investing for the health of the nation, there are plenty of imaginative managers to produce new ways for us to invest our savings.
