Infrastructure funds and construction and other PPP companies have been the main purchasers of PPP equity, accounting for 86.2% of transactions and 79.1% PPP equity purchases between 1998-2012 - see Table 6. Pension funds acquired equity in 44 projects, mainly by construction companies transferring equity to their own pension funds, or acquisitions by Dutch pension funds. Joint ventures between construction companies, banks and/or pension funds had an important role in enabling construction companies to obtain financial gains whilst retaining partial ownership of equity - see Part 3.
Table 6: Purchasers of PPP equity
| Type of purchaser | No. of transactions | No. of PPP projects | Sale value £m (No of transactions) |
| Offshore infrastructure fund | 50 | 171 | 1,483.3 (45) |
| Other infrastructure fund | 117 | 227 | 1,060.9 (61) |
| Pension fund | 15 | 44 | 154.9 (10) |
| Joint venture - construction company & bank or pension fund | 10 | 67 | 200.8 (6) |
| Other financial institution | 10 | 14 | 85.6 (4) |
| Construction or PPP company | 53 | 105 | 611.9 (28) |
Source: European Services Strategy Unit PPP Equity Database, 2012. Excludes transactions where information not available.
The increasingly dominant role of offshore infrastructure funds is evident when the data is compiled on an annual basis using the same six-fold classification of purchasers - see Table 7. The sudden surge in PPP equity acquisitions by offshore infrastructure funds began in 2006 with the flotation of HICL and Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships, followed by the John Laing Infrastructure Fund (2010), Bilfinger Berger Global Fund (2011) and the offshore location of Semperian in 2009.
There has been a parallel decline in the role of other infrastructure funds and acquisitions by construction and PPP companies. Joint ventures grew in importance up to 2010, but have declined since the growth of offshore funds.
Table 7: Changing pattern in acquisition of PPP equity (2003-2012)
| Year | Percentage of PPPs in which equity sold to: | |||||
| Offshore | Other | Pension fund | JVC construction co. & bank or pension fund | Other | Construction or PPP company | |
| 2003 | 0 | 22.6 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 74.2 |
| 2004 | 0 | 92.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 |
| 2005 | 0 | 70.7 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 | 19.0 |
| 2006 | 33.6 | 54.0 | 0.9 | 8.4 | 0 | 3.1 |
| 2007 | 11.3 | 62.9 | 6.5 | 9.7 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| 2008 | 8.9 | 15.6 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 2.2 | 55.5 |
| 2009 | 13.4 | 34.3 | 32.8 | 14.9 | 0 | 4.6 |
| 2010 | 30.0 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 37.5 | 2.5 | 11.3 |
| 0211 | 79.8 | 11.5 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 0 | 1.0 |
| 2012* | 75.0 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 0 |
Source: European Services Strategy Unit PPP Equity Database, 2012 * to end July 2012