First Sentier affiliate, MUFG join forces on infra debt platform

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

9 March 2026

First Sentier Group’s European alternative credit affiliate, AlbaCore Capital Group, has linked up with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) to develop a new platform offering untapped investment opportunities in UK and European infrastructure debt.

Leveraging the combined investment expertise of AlbaCore in investment grade and high yield strategies, MUFG Bank’s global project finance origination capabilities and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation’s (the Trust Bank’s) fundraising experience, the platform aims to deliver ‘resilient’ and income focused opportunities that also finance critical infrastructure.

A statement from AlbaCore confirmed that while the investment manager and MUFG will both oversee the platform’s strategic direction, AlbaCore will maintain “full independence” of portfolio management and asset allocation processes for investors.

It also said the infrastructure opportunities housed on the platform are intended to generate returns based on stable, predictable cash flows from long-term essential assets, supported by low historical default rates, strong recovery levels and low correlation to broader markets.

“Working together, AlbaCore and MUFG Bank will draw on a rich pool of expertise and resources to deliver compelling solutions to investors, underpinned by a specialised, experienced industry-leading investment team,” David Allen, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at AlbaCore, said.

“Securing commitments from the Trust Bank for the first vintage of the infrastructure high yield strategy is a testament to the attractiveness of this opportunity set to investors and is pivotal in helping to bring innovative projects to market.

“Launching this strategy is a significant milestone for our Infrastructure Investment team, led by Viktor Kozel, Managing Director, and a natural extension of our broader credit offering.”

The collaboration has also seen the Trust Bank provide seed funding to a new high yield infrastructure credit strategy managed by AlbaCore that will feature on the platform, delivering unitranche, holding company and junior credit investments in European infrastructure.

“We are pleased to be working with AlbaCore on this strategic partnership,” Fumitaka Nakahama, Global Head, Global Corporate & Investment Banking Business Group at MUFG, said.

This partnership is designed to unlock attractive risk-adjusted returns by addressing a structural financing gap in UK and European infrastructure, a sector underpinned by long-term global macro trends. In combining MUFG and AlbaCore’s expertise, we hope to help unlock the debt pipeline needed to advance the infrastructure of the future.”

MUFG said the platform expands on its ‘global investment management ecosystem’ and capabilities in infrastructure project finance.

“We are excited to support the infrastructure debt platform through this anchor investment,” Takafumi Ihara, Group Head, Asset Management & Investor Services Business Group at MUFG, said.

“This strategic initiative aligns with that of our global asset management business, which is to expand our private product capability and competitiveness globally in the infrastructure debt space.”