28 April 2024
Enter the financial investor: A new breed of network owner
Publication date: 01 June 2014
Gas Strategies Group
10 Saint Bride Street
London UK
EC4A 4AD
ISSN: 0964-8496
Twitter @GasStrategies
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A new class of owner, the financial investor, has entered the European gas infrastructure business in recent years. The industry is seeking new ownership models as a result of ongoing market liberalisation, at a time when Europe’s utilities have sought to reduce their debt burden in the wake of the financial crisis. That debt has been further exacerbated by the costs associated with the transformation of the electricity sector, driven by EU policy. This has laid the foundations for a different type of network business, in which financial investors seek opportunities for predictable returns on investment, and in which governments and utilities are receptive to a new kind of partnership. Gas Strategies examines this business environment and the role that financial investors can play going forward.