Managed by Cordiant Capital Inc., Cordiant Digital Infrastructure is the UK's first digital infrastructure fund. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in February – exceeding its £300 million target by £70 million – then invested "substantially all of the net proceeds" in the acquisition of České Radiokomunikace (CRA), announced alongside the acquisition of a fibre ring in Norway.
Publishing its financial results today, Cordiant confirmed that it exceeded its target return for investors in the first nine months of the year, reaching 9.5% total returns. This compared to "a minimum of 9%" as detailed by Steven Marshall, earlier this year.
Commenting on the results, Shonaid Jemmett-Page FCA, chairman of Cordiant Digital Investment Ltd, said the swift deployment of the IPO proceeds allowed the firm to increase the dividend target for the first financial year to 3 pence per share.
Jemmett-Page said: "This has been a busy and successful period. The proceeds of the capital raises will help to enable the Company to expand its portfolio, and leave us well placed to build on a strong pipeline of opportunities.
"The investment management team is executing the Company's investment strategy and starting to deliver attractive total returns to shareholders, while remaining mindful of its long-term responsibility to societies. We have assembled a strong and independent board who regard ESG and impact issues as particularly important."
In addition to the IPO, Cordiant raised £185 million in gross proceeds from the issue of C shares on 10 June, and a further £40 million during the period through the exercise of Subscription Shares. It has made several high-profile appointments since its IPO to round off its leadership team.
With a market cap of £641 million, Cordiant has a remit to invest in data centres, telecommunications towers and fibre networks in the UK, Europe and North America. According to its nine-month financials, Cordiant's total comprehensive income for the period ending 30 September, was £14.21 million.
