Inside Infrastructure: Infrastructure fundraising - new channels, new pathways to navigate

Infrastructure fundraising is not only recovering; it is changing shape. Capital formation is moving in two directions at once: on the one hand, towards broader access through evergreen and semi‑liquid products; and on the other hand, towards more sophisticated liquidity solutions through a rapidly maturing secondaries market. 

For infrastructure managers and investors, these developments are not simply commercial. They raise complex questions around fund design, liquidity management, conflicts, disclosure, governance and regulation. Structures that were once peripheral are becoming central to how capital is raised, managed and recycled. 

This post looks at three connected trends:

• the broader fundraising recovery and continued institutionalisation of infrastructure as an asset class;
• the rise of evergreen and semi‑liquid structures; and
• the growth of infrastructure secondaries, particularly GP‑led continuation vehicles.

Taken together, these trends point to a market offering significant opportunity, but also increasing legal and governance complexity. 

Infrastructure fundraising – the bigger picture

Infrastructure fundraising grew by nearly 15% year-on-year in 2024, marking a decisive recovery from the liquidity-constrained years that preceded it—and 2025 continued that trajectory, with private infrastructure fundraising exceeding its full-year 2024 total by the close of Q3 2025. 

A broader symbolic milestone was reached in 2024, when infrastructure fundraising surpassed real estate fundraising for the first time—highlighting growing LP conviction in infrastructure’s ability to deliver predictable, inflation‑resilient returns across market cycles.

Retail investors enter the infrastructure fundraising fray

Alongside this recovery, there has been a structural shift in who is investing in infrastructure and how that capital is being deployed. Evergreen and semi‑liquid fund structures—long familiar in real estate and private credit—are now gaining meaningful traction in infrastructure. This is driven in part by efforts to broaden access to the asset class, particularly for retail and private wealth investors.

As of April 2026, the UK government has permitted Long‑Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) to be held within stocks and shares ISAs. LTAFs are open-ended, FCA-authorised fund vehicles introduced to the UK in 2021, specifically to enable investment in long-term illiquid assets, such as infrastructure, private equity and private credit, by a broader pool of investors, including defined contribution pension schemes, and as of April this year, retail investors as well. Unlike traditional closed-ended infrastructure funds, which lock up capital for a fixed term, LTAFs are designed to offer periodic liquidity windows despite the fact that LTAFs will hold assets that do not trade on public markets. Over the last few years, we have seen an increasing popularity in this choice of vehicle. For example, Schroders Capital launched Schroders Greencoat Global Renewables in early 2024 and Legal & General launched its Private Markets Access Fund LTAF in July 2024. 

Across the channel, nearly half of European wealth investors are reportedly considering allocations to European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs) within the next three years—reflecting both the maturation of the ELTIF 2.0 framework and broader demand for yield generating alternatives among non-institutional allocators. ELTIFs are a regulated EU fund structure which are similar in nature to UK LTAFs. ELTIFs were first introduced in 2015 and updated by the ELTIF 2.0 framework in January 2024. Before ELTIF 2.0, the regime had gained limited traction due to restrictive eligibility and distribution rules. The 2024 reforms lowered minimum investment thresholds, eased portfolio diversification requirements and expanded distribution rights across EU member states, making infrastructure ELTIFs a genuinely viable product for non-institutional investors. For example, managers including PATRIZIA and Union Investment launched infrastructure-focused 2.0 products in 2024, while Commerz Real, already one of Europe’s largest ELTIF operators, launched InfraVest infrastructure ELTIF in 2025. 

Designing these products for a private wealth audience is, however, complex.

Redemption mechanics must be carefully calibrated to reflect the illiquid nature of the underlying assets, often requiring jurisdiction‑specific structuring. Liquidity management tools available under LTAF and ELTIF regime, such as redemption gates, liquidating side-pockets or share classes, notice periods and in‑specie transfer, must not only meet regulatory requirements (including the enhanced obligations under AIFMD II), but also remain robust under stress scenarios that may not be foreseeable at launch. 

Other design challenges include:

• Fee architecture, particularly from a fairness perspective between investors entering and redeeming at different points in the fund’s life;
• Reporting and disclosure, which differ materially from institutional investor standards; and
• Distribution capabilities, which must adapt to a private wealth audience.

As a result, GPs are increasingly engaging legal counsel earlier in the product design process.

More fundamentally, the tension between investor liquidity and asset illiquidity is not just a commercial issue, it is a regulatory and fiduciary one. As a result, the frameworks governing these products are still evolving. 

As institutional fundraising becomes increasingly competitive and LP bases consolidate around a smaller number of preferred managers, private wealth offers meaningful diversification of the investor base. However, the opportunity to attract such investors is likely only available to managers that have built the legal and operational infrastructure to properly support it. 

Infrastructure secondaries: a market coming of age

The infrastructure secondaries market has transformed in recent years. What was once a relatively small segment of the broader secondaries landscape is rapidly developing into a significant part of the infrastructure capital ecosystem. 

In 2025, more than £7 billion was deployed into infrastructure secondaries, with LP‑led transactions accounting for around £4 billion. Across non‑buyout strategies, infrastructure and credit led all other sectors in deployment volumes. Infrastructure is also taking a larger share of GP‑led activity, with infrastructure‑focused secondaries funds growing from 9% of the market in 2024 to 20% in 2025. This reflects strong underlying fundamentals, including resilient cash flows and inflation protection.

Key to these trends are both a more mature buyer base and changing investor behaviour. Secondaries are increasingly used as an active portfolio management tool rather than a last‑resort liquidity option.

A recent illustration of this trend is GI Partners’ August 2025 single-asset continuation vehicle for Flexential, a US data centre operator, which involved approximately $1 billion in capital and allowed GI Partners to retain a high-performing digital infrastructure asset beyond the original fund’s life, while offering liquidity to LPs. 

Pricing remains favourable to buyers with conviction. In 2025:

• nearly three quarters of infrastructure GP‑led transactions were priced above 90% of NAV; and
• average target returns for GP‑led transactions were around 1.9x MOIC and 18.7% IRR—below growth equity, but above private credit benchmarks. GP‑led continuation vehicles have been a defining feature of this growth. Infrastructure sponsors are increasingly using single‑asset or concentrated-portfolio vehicles to retain high‑performing assets beyond the original fund’s life, while offering liquidity to LPs who wish to exit. 

These transactions introduce significant legal complexity. GPs simultaneously owe fiduciary duties to two distinct LP groups - those rolling and those exiting - whose interests may diverge materially.

Managing that conflict requires robust governance, including:

• independent third‑party valuations;
• effective LP advisory committee processes; and
• clear, comprehensive disclosure to support informed decision‑making.

While the market has made real progress on each of those issues, approaches remain uneven across jurisdictions and sponsors, and there is no settled standard - an area of increasing regulatory and investor focus. 

Looking ahead

The infrastructure asset class is undergoing a period of genuine structural change, combining significant opportunity with equally significant complexity. 

Key drivers include:

• demand for AI‑related digital infrastructure;
• energy security priorities reshaping capital allocation across Europe; and
• continued institutionalisation of the asset class.

Alongside this growth, the legal and governance frameworks supporting the market will continue to evolve.

As continuation vehicles become standard tools, regulatory and investor scrutiny will intensify. Managers with robust governance frameworks will be better placed to respond.

Similarly, the expansion of private wealth channels is likely to drive further regulatory engagement. Conduct, suitability and distribution rules designed for retail investors are now being applied to products and to a GP community historically focused on institutional markets. This coincides with the continued rollout of AIFMD II, the EU's updated Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, which came into force in 2024 with staged implementation dates of this year and next, introducing enhanced requirements around liquidity management, delegation, depositary arrangements and investor disclosure for fund managers operating across Europe. AIFMD II will further sharpen that regulatory focus, particularly for managers operating across multiple jurisdictions.

Infrastructure is no longer a niche asset class; it is becoming a core part of the investment landscape. As access broadens and liquidity tools evolve, the opportunities are clear, but so too is the need for careful structuring and strong governance. Managers who can navigate this changing environment with clarity and discipline will be best positioned to unlock the next phase of growth.