In the wake of the Hayne Royal Commission, industry funds reigned supreme. It has taken more than five years, but the for-profit funds are finally back in the game as the not for profits increasingly struggle to service members nearing or in retirement.
Central banks have performed admirably to get economies back on track, but a public that is far less-trusting of big institutions and traditional asset classes remains unconvinced. US President Donald Trump’s trade policies are simply fuelling their fears.
IFM, HESTA get behind the wheel at Splend
IFM’s Growth Partners Fund 2 has taken a 49 per cent stake in Splend, a provider of subscription vehicles to rideshare drivers in Australia and the United Kingdom, alongside HESTA (through its mandate with IFM) and other co-investors.
For HESTA, the investment is part of its ambition to build out a significant climate solutions portfolio, which has already seen it tip money into the likes of ASX-listed ReNu Energy to fund green hydrogen projects.
“HESTA aims to have 10 per cent of its global portfolio invested in climate solutions by 2030,” said HESTA CIO Sonya Sawtell-Rickson. “Innovative investments like this can help us strive to deliver strong, long-term returns for our members while having a positive impact by supporting the transition to a low carbon future. Splend has shown they can deliver efficiencies to customers, cutting costs and emissions, and we’re excited to invest in the next stage of its growth.”
Founded in 2015, Splend has one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in Australia and is supporting rideshare drivers to adopt lower emission vehicles through its “all-inclusive flexible finance and ownership offerings”. Its fleet is approaching 7000 vehicles across both markets, with strong tailwinds from rideshare companies’ move to transition their fleets to electric vehicles.
The investment is the sixth for IFM’s Growth Partners Fund 2, and follows investments in the likes of construction software company Payapps, recently sold to Autodesk for $600 million; infrastructure software provider Render Networks; and financial services data platform management company Novigi.
“Splend is a high quality, rapidly growing business with a leadership position in Australia and strong growth in the UK,” said Adrian Kerly, IFM executive director for private equity. “We believe its continued growth will be underpinned by its strong value proposition for customers, its scale and established relationship with Uber, and its use of data and telematics to deliver cost efficiencies.
“We’re very pleased to be investing in a company like Splend, which fits well with our focus on tech-enabled service companies and energy transition objectives. Splend’s fleet of electric vehicles in Australia and the UK are already reducing carbon emissions by over 19,000tCO2e per annum.”
