Plenary: Global experience and economic stimulus

Established in 2004, Plenary is a leading independent, long-term investor, developer, and manager of public infrastructure. Plenary has over 250 employees across 13 global offices and currently has 80 assets under management worth more than €45 billion.

Plenary is the largest participant in the Asia Pacific public-private partnership (PPP) market and the largest PPP developer in North America. After successful expansions into North America, Asia and the Middle East, Europe is Plenary’s next frontier.

Our approach: Experience, partnership, innovation and long-term investment

At Plenary, we exclusively take a long-term approach to project outcomes. This is integral to ensure that infrastructure continues to deliver over the long term and is, ultimately, handed back to government partners fit for purpose.

Our model is based on a desire to share risk with our partners, active ownership and supported by effective project delivery. We continue to maintain an equity interest in every one of our originated projects, which demonstrates our clear commitment to resolve issues collaboratively with our partners.

Plenary’s approach to partnering with consortia and governments has been central to its success.

A multi-national team comprising the most experienced infrastructure investment professionals in the most active PPP markets in the world, brings a fresh perspective. This includes market leading origination and delivery teams with extensive experience across finance, commercial, construction, operations, and public sector engagement.

Plenary leverages its own balance sheet and a global network of capital providers to assess each project on its merits, without fund limitations or return thresholds. We are uniquely placed as a one-stop shop to source and structure the most competitive capital terms across debt, mezzanine, and equity financing.

All of the jurisdictions Plenary operates in face significant infrastructure gaps due to the combined effects of population growth, under-investment over previous decades and the need to transition to renewable energy sources and decarbonise economies. In Plenary, governments have a long-term partner willing to invest patient capital alongside them. Our long-term investment model means we are driven to achieve quality, whole-of-life outcomes.

We are seeing major increases in construction costs across all our markets. The global market context is one where supply chains are under severe pressure and with inflation rising, the cost of delivering infrastructure is high and rising. With budget constraints and increasing interest rates impacting governments across the globe, Plenary’s capacity to bring together local and international pension fund investors to commit to public infrastructure can be a strong positive for the Irish economy.

This is where Plenary’s experience across a diverse range of global markets, combined with our capital independence, can play an important role. It allows us to develop innovative commercial and financing structures – which can facilitate the effective, efficient delivery of much needed infrastructure projects despite the difficult market environment.

The challenge for any government (around the globe) will be to attract private capital willing to invest alongside them in a way that drives innovative practices to get the best outcome for taxpayers recognised over the long term.

Sydney Metro

A good example of Plenary’s successful approach to our projects was the December 2022 award of the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Stations, Systems, Trains, Operations and Maintenance (SSTOM) PPP to the Plenary Group-led Parklife Metro consortium.

The project will deliver a new 23-kilometre metro to link the new Western Sydney International Airport, major residential areas, job centres and the rest of Sydney’s public transport system. The joint Australian and New South Wales project is the largest PPP awarded in New South Wales to date. The project will be a major economic stimulus for Western Sydney, New South Wales and the national Australian economies.

In keeping with Plenary’s long-term commitment to its projects, Parklife Metro will continue to operate and maintain the metro line for 15 years after it becomes operational.

This is just the latest major metro/light rail project undertaken by Plenary. In November 2022, the Plenary Connect 6ix consortium was awarded the $9 billion Ontario Rolling Stock, Systems, Operations and Maintenance contract. Plenary is currently delivering 70 new high-capacity metro trains and two new maintenance facilities for Melbourne’s rail network. Plenary delivered the Sydney Metro North West PPP, a 36- kilometre rail link in May 2019; Gold Coast Light Rail in Queensland in 2017; and the Metrolinx East Rail Maintenance Facility in Ontario, Canada in 2018.

At Plenary, we are excited to bring this experience to Europe and to Ireland.

Ambition for Ireland

Plenary has established a European office, with Ireland emerging as a key focus given the strong pipeline of PPP projects in the social housing, justice, and transport sectors.

Plenary has a strong connection to Ireland through our founder Ray Wilson. Ray was born and raised in Dublin and while he has made his home in Australia, he continues to be actively involved in Dublin life through his immediate family and his role as part owner of the Shamrock Rovers Football Club. Ray is also a board member of the Ireland Funds Australia and supports his old school St James CBS and a number of other inner city not-for-profit organisations which are close to his heart given his boyhood in Rialto.

Following a period of capital underinvestment following the 2008 crash, there is a strong demand for infrastructure projects in Ireland.

Ireland is estimated to grow by an additional one million people by 2040 and is looking to invest in quality public infrastructure to meet future demand and community expectations. This context means that there is a strong demand for infrastructure projects as outlined by the Government’s National Development Plan. The policy environment in Ireland is therefore positive with regard to partnering with the private sector to meet this infrastructure demand.

The particular demand for social housing and transport projects in Ireland maps well onto Plenary’s experience across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North America. Alongside the significant transport experience outlined above, we have been strategically building our expertise and knowledge of the social housing sector. We have employed an executive team with the appropriate specialist experience and identifying pools of capital with an investment appetite.

We believe Plenary’s approach to long-term investment and active management of our projects, for on-time and on-budget delivery, can make a valuable contribution to meeting Ireland’s infrastructure ambitions.

Our large scale public infrastructure projects are often the most significant economic stimulus for local communities. They are opportunities for local jobs, trade training for young people, urban renewal, commercial development, and support for local businesses and organisations. Plenary excels at delivering the ‘other’; economic, commercial and social opportunities that bring a project to life and give it meaning for a local community.

Paul Crowe, Chief Investor Officer, Plenary Group
E: paul.crowe@plenary.com–