Hayfin Capital Management has completed a $400m fundraising as part of its Maritime Yield strategy.
The company said the fundraising had received strong support from a diverse group of new investors, from insurance companies to infrastructure and pension funds and family offices.
The UK-based alternative credit platform said it now has the capacity to acquire up to $1bn of shipping assets with the addition of conservative debt financing.
Hayfin intends to invest across a range of industrial maritime sectors with a focus on acquiring top-specification assets that “generate predictable and uncorrelated cash yields from blue-chip counterparties”.
The company has already made more than $3bn in investments in the dry bulk, tanker, container ship, LPG and LNG carrier sectors.
Its fleet, managed through its in-house operation Greenheart Shipping, amounts to more than 80 vessels that have generated more than $1bn in charter revenues.
TradeWinds reported earlier this month that Hayfin Capital had made a major investment in two suezmax tanker newbuildings in China.
“This latest pocket of capital dedicated to the maritime industry is a powerful complement to our existing capabilities,” said head of maritime Andreas Povlsen.
“Our strategy in maritime focuses on aligning patient institutional capital with attractive fuel-efficient assets and predictable as well as diversified cash yields generated from investment-grade counterparties.”
Hayfin is also banking a share of the $399m that Danish product carrier specialist Torm is paying for eight LR2 tankers sold by its joint venture with Norway’s Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (KGS), SKS Greentankers.
The Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries ships were built between 2010 and 2012 and have fuel-efficient eco specifications.
Torm will meet the bill with $239m in cash and 5.5m shares.
Hayfin also owns a drilling rig through another joint venture.
The two suezmaxes are on order at Hyundai Samho in South Korea for delivery in 2027.
As decarbonisation and other regulations tighten, the company believes that with its technical competence and long-term outlook, it is well positioned to invest.
Hayfin Maritime Funds managing director Nino Mowinckel said: “Shipping markets are undergoing a period of profound structural change, with rising barriers to entry, constrained supply-side dynamics, expanding tonne-miles and tightening regulatory regimes that will increase asset utilisation rates over time.
“We believe that the industry continues to benefit from adopting a more institutional, value-add infrastructure model, transitioning away from short-termism and sub-scale platforms.”
