The Board of John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited  (JLIF) has announced  a proposal to issue up to 81.2 million new ordinary shares in the capital of the company by way of tap issuance.

The firm plans to use net proceeds of the placing to repay the group's revolving credit facility which, following the acquisition of a 40% stake in the Barcelona Line 9 Section II metro project announced in January 2016, is £84.5 million (US$117.8 million) drawn. The balance will be used for general working capital purposes and/or to fund further acquisitions.

The placing shares will rank "pari passu" in all respects with the existing ordinary shares, however, they will not be entitled to the dividend of 3.41p per share declared by the company on 25 February.

JLIF has a strong pipeline and continues to evaluate acquisition opportunities from vendors in the UK, the USA and the developed European market. The company is in advanced discussions on acquisitions totalling approximately £150 million (US$209.2 million) of assets that fit its investment policy. A substantial proportion of these are PPP projects across Western Europe (predominantly availability-based), and the remainder comprise UK availability-based social infrastructure PPP projects. 

Commenting on the announcement, Paul Lester, Chairman of JLIF, said:

"JLIF has grown consistently since launch. We have successfully raised over £800 million of primary equity since 2010, whilst delivering a 53% total return for shareholders over that time. Our focus continues to be on delivering a stable and secure income for our shareholders by investing in low risk, high yielding assets. This Placing is in line with JLIF's stated strategy and will allow us to repay the debt drawn for the recent acquisition of a stake in the Barcelona Metro project, an important step in the next phase of our international growth."