Macquarie Group, the Australian bank, has shaken up its infrastructure investment business by cutting more than a 10th of its staff, curtailing the life of its latest European fund and granting investors a discount on fees.
The overhaul at Macquarie highlights how the credit crisis has dented the confidence of even one of the world’s biggest investors in infrastructure assets, with about A$100bn ($99bn) under management.
The investment bank shot to prominence during the market bubble for using large amounts of debt to buy infrastructure assets, such as airports, toll roads and water utilities. The assets were bundled into listed and unlisted Macquarie vehicles designed to offer investors predictable long-term yields.