News & media The ascendancy of mid-market infrastructure direct lending
Haig Bezian, Managing Director, Infrastructure Credit
Over the past two decades, private credit AUM has grown from under US$200 billion in 2009 to approximately US$2 trillion. Within this staggering growth, infrastructure direct lending has matured from a quiet corner of the private credit universe to a central pillar of real assets financing. Once seen as a niche strategy, it now sits squarely in the spotlight, offering institutional investors resilience, yield and impact, while also providing mid-market borrowers with tailored capital solutions beyond the reach of traditional banks.
Infrastructure, due to its long-term nature, inflation linkage, and societal relevance, continues to attract substantial pools of capital. However, as capital markets recalibrate around regulatory constraints, geopolitical pressures and macro trends, such as surging demand for AI and the energy transition, the importance of specialised, flexible lending platforms has never been more evident.
The disintermediation imperative
Banks have historically underpinned infrastructure finance. But a combination of Basel-driven capital requirements, internal lending concentration limits, and evolving global credit appetites has reduced their flexibility, opening the door for private direct lenders. This shift is particularly pronounced in the mid-market, where borrowers often lack access to syndicated or investment-grade solutions and require more tailored, strategic capital.
Direct lending avoids the dilution of syndication and can offer the speed, discretion, and structuring creativity that commercial banks increasingly struggle to match. It enables lenders to work directly with borrowers, providing solutions that are closely aligned to the operational and developmental stages of an asset.
As the definition of infrastructure evolves, so too must the underwriting approach. Assets such as data centres, smart mobility hubs, and distributed energy networks now sit at the heart of infrastructure portfolios, but they often blur the lines between real estate, technology, and utilities. These assets bring new risk profiles and revenue models, requiring lenders to combine technical fluency with financial discipline. The result is a demand for capital providers who can respond with both agility and conviction.
At the same time, infrastructure sponsors are increasingly demanding financiers who understand asset complexity and are willing to craft bespoke structures across key sectors and technologies. Whether it’s funding battery storage projects, supporting agri-logistics platforms, or enabling rural broadband, today’s infrastructure finance requires a partnership mindset that is grounded in insight and innovation.
An exciting outlook for the market
Looking ahead, three trends are set to define the next chapter of infrastructure direct lending.
First is the rise of digital ubiquity. Digital infrastructure, including fibre, towers and data centres, is now essential infrastructure. These assets are increasingly complex and commercially dynamic, challenging traditional classifications and requiring fresh thinking.
Second is the growing importance of sectoral specialisation. Infrastructure today spans a wide spectrum, from energy assets to digital platforms and agri-logistics. Each sector has its own dynamics, risk profile, and structuring requirements. Lenders with deep sector expertise are better equipped to structure solutions that drive long-term performance.
Third is the growing convergence of debt and equity thinking. As deal structures become more intricate, lenders are increasingly expected to think like sponsors by anticipating operational triggers, co-investment opportunities and eventual exit strategies. This is especially relevant for assets that straddle the line between traditional infrastructure and more innovative, fast-evolving sectors.
Sector focus with real-world outcomes
At Cordiant, we operate across multiple markets and transaction types, spanning from Europe to South America. Our approach is rooted in listening before structuring. Whether navigating jurisdictional risk, regulatory overlays, or intercreditor dynamics, we strive to offer more than just capital and provide the certainty, clarity, and capability to enable successful lending.
Our experience delivering over €4 billion of arranged financing globally since our inception gives us significant depth to build a lending solution that blends leverage with long-term value preservation. At Cordiant, we focus on three sectors that are essential to the future of global infrastructure: digital infrastructure, the energy transition, and the agriculture value chain. These sectors address some of the most pressing challenges facing societies today, including connectivity gaps, decarbonisation, food security, and rural employment.
Each of these sectors demands thoughtful structuring. Many of the assets we finance lie beyond the reach of traditional banks, often due to their bespoke nature, regulatory overlays, or jurisdictional complexity. Our ability to navigate these challenges, through tools such as FX hedging, intercreditor coordination, and flexible tranche structuring, is central to unlocking capital for growth.
Our stories of success include recently providing financing to Green Genius, a leading European renewable energy developer, to support the construction of four solar power plants in Lithuania with a total capacity of 32.6 megawatts.
This transaction marked Cordiant’s first project investment in Lithuania and represents a significant step forward in accelerating the Baltics’ transition to clean energy. Structured to align with both national energy goals and EU climate targets, the financing is expected to help avoid nearly 9,800 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, the equivalent of removing over 3,400 cars from the roads each year.
It exemplifies how our sector-led approach, particularly in energy transition, can deliver long-term environmental and economic impact through smart, scalable infrastructure.
Marrying capital with conviction
The next phase of growth in this asset class belongs to platforms that deliver more than liquidity, especially to the underserved mid-market, where strategic capital can unlock transformational outcomes.
It belongs to lenders with conviction, those who can anticipate needs, craft nimble solutions, and stay closely aligned with the asset.
In our view, infrastructure direct lending is no longer just an asset class. It is a strategic response to a world that is fundamentally rethinking how it finances progress. We are proud to play our part in driving that transformation.