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ARTICLE · 09 OCTOBER 2026

Investing In Infrastructure: The Capital Stack

Macfarlanes LLP
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The infrastructure capital stack is undergoing significant transformation as equity markets consolidate at the top while creating mid-market opportunities, private debt emerges as a bankability indicator for maturing sectors, and fund finance structures become increasingly sophisticated. This evolution is reshaping how capital is deployed, structured, and exited across the infrastructure investment landscape...

United KingdomFinance and Banking
Tim Redman
Tim Redman
Andrew Hughes
Andrew Hughes
Shama Ams
Shama Ams

The infrastructure capital stack is evolving rapidly across equity, debt and fund finance. 

Equity: concentration at the top, opportunity in the middle

On the equity side, the market is split. Deals above $500m accounted for 98% of deal value in H1 2026, up from 93% in 2025 and 87% the year before.1 That concentration is being reinforced by GP consolidation – headlined by BlackRock’s c.$12.5bn acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners in 2024, which created a $170bn platform spanning 100 countries.2

Alongside outright acquisitions, GP stake transactions are emerging as a second route into manager economics. Passive interests in management companies give investors exposure to long-dated fee streams and carried interest. Infrastructure managers are particularly attractive targets, because their fee bases are more durable and their fundraising has held up better than most private markets strategies. These are some of the most bespoke transactions. How you value the interest,

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