October 5th 2023
World’s first EV charging fund secures £40m deal for three sites
The first ever fund set up to solely buy and develop sites for charging electric vehicle fleets has struck a trio of delas across the UK.
Infinium Logistics is the asset and development manager for FleetHubs, an EV fleet-charging real estate fund that raised £500m in 2022. The organisation said it has bought sites near Heathrow Airport, Sheffield, and Surrey.
In addition, Infinium also purchased two sites earlier in the year: one in Swindon and the other in Banbury which is being let to Amazon.
The way the system works is the fund buys sites where owners of electric vehicle fleets can park and charge. It puts in the EV charging infrastructure, while vehicle owners pay rent or parking fees as well as for the electricity.
The company have claimed that they are aiming to help speed up the decarbonisation process of the transport sector by providing the real estate and infrastructure needed to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles – a target the UK government have recently put the brakes on.
Tom Markwell, investment manager at Infinium, said: ‘This acquisition is a pivotal step forward in Infinium’s mission to decarbonise, electrify and optimise commercial transport. As one of the world’s busiest airports, Heathrow symbolises a major hub for global traffic, making this an ideal setting to drive the transition to electric vehicles.’
In Sheffield, the company completed the acquisition of the three-acre site, comprising an office building with associated care parking which was previously occupied by the vendor Insight, and in Surrey it has exchanged contracts on the acquisition of a site, with completion due in February 2024.
Speaking about the wider strategy, Phil Bayliss, CEO of Infinium Logistics, said: ‘Helping to deliver the clean energy transition through the electrification of commercial transport in real estate is an extraordinary opportunity. The role that the real estate sector can play as architects of a cleaner, greener mobility future is enormous and our generation’s defining, watershed moment in the drive towards a sustainable future. It will all start with great sites in high demand locations and these investments do just that.’
Image: Infinium
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