Research on Digital 9 Infrastructure Plc (DGI9:LON) , International Public Partnerships Ltd (INPP:LON) , Greencoat UK Wind Plc (UKW:LON) , SDCL Efficiency Income Trust PLC (SEIT:LON) , US Solar Fund Plc (USFP:LON) , HICL Infrastructure PLC (HICL:LON) , Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust Plc (ORIT:LON) , Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd. (BSIF:LON) , Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited GBP Red.Shs (TRIG:LON) , NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd (NESF:LON) , Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund Limited Ptg.Shs GBP (SEQI:LON) , Greencoat Renewables Plc (GRP:LON) , GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd GBP (GCP:LON) , Foresight Solar Fund Limited GBP (FSFL:LON) , 3i Infrastructure PLC (3IN:LON) , Aquila European Renewables PLC Registered (AERI:LON) , Pantheon Infrastructure PLC (PINT:LON) , Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust Plc (RNEW:LON) , Gresham House Energy Storage Fund Plc GBP (GRID:LON) , Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited (CORD:LON) , Hydrogen Capital Growth plc (HGEN:LON) , Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust PLC (AEET:LON) from Hardman & Co
REIF wind-downs, plunging NAV discounts and “ajar” equity markets, but... Undoubtedly, 2025 was a difficult year for Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs). Investors have seen underperformance against the FTSE 100, widening NAV discounts, several delistings, managed wind-downs (MWDs) and regulatory issues in both the UK and in the US. The question for investors is: where do we go from here? On the one hand, yields for some REIFS are well over twice those of 10-year gilts, and, generally, IICs have met their dividend expectations. On the other hand, however, the NAV discounts have widened, especially for REIFs. What are the prospects for the 8 quoted IICs and the remaining 17 REIFs? Back in 2023, there were 31 quoted sector funds. While the IICs, with the notable exception of Digital 9 Infrastructure, have generally held their own of late, the opposite is the case for the REIFs, virtually all of which are currently trading at heavy discounts to NAV. The shrunken 25-strong group now commands a much-reduced market capitalisation of ca.£19.1bn, weighted 58% in favour of the IICs. During 2025, after making various adjustments for the delisted funds, the IIC subsector rose by 3.7%, while the REIF subsector was down by a depressing 17.6%. Over the same period, the FTSE 100, driven by mining, defence and bank stocks, increased by almost 22%, while the FTSE 250 was up by a more modest 9%.