The first quarter is often not the sexiest of times to be reporting on, with data usually showing a sluggish start to the year. However, IJInvestor’s Funds and Investors Report for the first quarter of 2024 is showing glimmers of hope.

IJInvestor – the intelligence hub that sits within IJGlobal and tracks infra fund and M&A activity across infrastructure and energy globally – identifies total capital raised by funds at final close for the quarter to be about $44.5 billion. This was reported on in the inaugural IJInvestor League Table report, which ranks managers and advisers, and it was published last week.

To access the funds report (it takes two clicks) click here...

Industry observers agree with the data that green shoots are appearing on the fundraising front, with more excitement about the market in Europe and the Asia Pacific region than in the US or the UK.

Indeed, the data show that Europe saw more capital raised last year than previously, which was also repeated in APAC. This is unsurprising given the number of region-specific funds that closed.

On the M&A side there is no doubt that the market has slowed. However, the number of sale processes that are rumoured to be starting is an indication that the latter half of 2024 could raise the 12 months to being a bumper year.