Frederic Michel-Verdier

Welcome to the Frederic Michel Verdier blog. Buildings are a central part of our daily lives, and we spend a large part of our days in them - at home, at work, or during our spare time. In its different forms - homes, work places, schools, hospitals, libraries or other public buildings - the built environment is, however, the single largest energy consumer and one of the largest carbon dioxide emitters. In today's blog, Frederic Michel Verdier energy-efficient building design in the context of building life cycle.

Through Horizon 2020 research and innovation projects, the EU invests in grants or loans that help push technology and best practice in the sector. Appliances like smart meters, better performing materials and digital tools contribute to energy efficiency and can help consumers to better control their energy consumption, and save money. Collectively, buildings in the EU are responsible for 40% of our energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions, which mainly stem from construction, usage, renovation and demolition. Improving energy efficiency in buildings therefore has a key role to play in achieving the ambitious goal of carbon-neutrality by 2050, set out in the European Green Deal says Frederic Michel-Verdier.

The EU also supports and finance energy efficiency projects through the European Investment Bank (EIB), which lends money to projects that contribute to reaching the EU’s energy and climate goals. The aim is to increase the rate of renovation of existing buildings and bring together the different actors in the sector to develop financing possibilities, promote investments in buildings and pool renovation efforts.

Besides the environmental gains from lower energy use, people across the EU will also benefit from improved energy efficiency in their homes, at work, in schools and other buildings, Frederic Michel-Verdier added. Energy efficient buildings will result in lower energy bills and reduced energy demand. In some cases they will also benefit from increased renewable energy sources. These changes will also lead to better air quality and improved health.

With certain renovation measures targeting social housing – and new rules for EU countries to measure and monitor figures for those that struggle to pay their energy bills – these building renovation rules will help to combat energy poverty in the EU and ensure that no citizen is left behind in the clean energy transition.

Have you read? 

Sustainable Infrastructure Investments
Game Changers In The Energy System Emerging
Key Trends Impacting Digital Infrastructure

About Frederic Michel- Verdier

Frederic Michel- Verdier has indepth knowledge and experience bringing a real understanding of underlying assets – of infrastructure “mechanics” from development to execution and management. Find out more about him on the Frederic Michel- Verdier website here. Follow Frederic Michel-Verdier on Twitter. Alternatively, you can also read the latest Frederic Michel-Verdier news here.

Welcome to the Frederic Michel Verdier blog. Frederic Michel Verdier is a Funds veteran specializing in infrastructure equity investments and asset management. Brexit uncertainty has had a massively negative effect on investments in the UK. With such historic changes ahead, investors were not keen on making big decisions, which has slowed down the country’s economy. Productivity levels have been dropping for years now, with millions of Brits wondering what would happen should the UK leave the European Union. The beginning of 2020 under Boris Johnson’s leadership has brought the answer to that question and it is looking more and more promising.

Post-Brexit UK announces a dire need for investments in infrastructure. These are meant to be the element that makes the country’s economy bounce back to its former self. In fact, conditions are better than ever before for investing in infrastructure – interest rates are at an unprecedented low and Prime Minister Johnson has just given the green light for a massive project, the High Speed 2 rail link, and has expressed his support for similar upcoming projects.

A Great Time to Invest in British Infrastructure

The National Audit Office has announced interest rates at 0.75 percent, which points out to 2020 being a stellar time to make investments. This, along with other measures, has been implemented to facilitate and support upcoming investments because these, in turn, will strengthen the country’s economy. The HS2 project alone, for instance, is set to generate over 500,000 new employment opportunities. Considering that this is only one of the infrastructure projects starting in the UK in the years to come, this could actually bring about a full-on economic boom. This is what the Government hopes for, which means that these projects will be supported every step of the way.

Government Support Means Business Success

Taking these aspects into consideration, it is an excellent time to start your very own investment project in infrastructure because it has higher chances than ever to be successful and bring in profit. With the help of an expert in infrastructure investment, like Mr. Frederic Michel-Verdier, putting together a transportation project will be simple and extremely efficient. His expertise can be a great asset for making your project stand out. Moreover, your profit will be a truly patriotic act because the success of the country’s infrastructure will also make the British economy thrive.

HS2 Signals the Beginning of Infrastructure Success

The High Speed 2 project aims to connect London to the Midlands, and to northern England. The costs of this project, which are announced to be more than £100 billion, have made it the topic of numerous debates. However, it promises to offer enormous returns as well, starting from the 500,000 jobs it is going to create in the UK.

Boris Johnson himself used to be an HS2 skeptic, but this project enables him to keep his promises to rebalance the economy outside of London and the south of the country and aim it to the north, for a change. As expected, this exposes the Prime Minister to even greater comment, but the facts are simple – the HS2 has a green light and it will bring about an economic boom to the UK.

This also creates a great opportunity for investing in HS2-related projects, which are going to flourish in the months and years to come. A project of this amplitude will create numerous satellite business projects and, with the Government’s announced support, it is an ideal time to invest. Even the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has made it clear – borrowing money that will be used in infrastructure investment is “appropriate to boost the economy”.

As you can see, post-Brexit UK is a wonderland for infrastructure investment, so those aiming to turn a profit in 2020 are advised to start a business in this field. With upcoming projects like the gargantuan HS2, the future of the UK is looking bright.

About Frederic 

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. The Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management said it raised US$20 billion for a massive new fund dedicated to infrastructure, exceeding its $17 billion targets and the $14 billion it raised for its previous infrastructure fund, which closed in July 2016. The Toronto-based company with over $540 billion of assets under management says it put $5-billion into the Brookfield. Infrastructure Fund IV (BIF IV) itself, and raised the remainder from 170 institutional investors, including pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and other investors.

Approximately 75% of the third-party capital came from existing Brookfield investors, highlighting Brookfield's focus on building long-term relationships with its limited partners.

To date, the Fund has invested or committed approximately $8 billion, or 40% of its capital, to a diversified set of attractive infrastructure businesses, including the largest short-haul rail operator in North America, natural gas pipelines in North America, data infrastructure businesses in South America, New Zealand, India, and the U.K., and a global portfolio of renewable power assets. Learn more about this development on the Frederic Michel- Verdier website.

About Frederic 

Infrastructure Summits and Conferences in 2020

Frederic Michel-Verdier has announced he will be attending the upcoming Infrastructure Investor Global Summit on 16th to the 19th of March 2020 in Berlin. Michel-Verdier and other members of industry’s most influential practitioners are to attend the 2020 Summit, notable speakers include Ben Hammersley, James Kerr and Dr Khanna.

 The Berlin Global Summit is one of a number of high profile Infrastructure events attended by Mr Michel-Verdier in recent weeks, including Paris Infraweek and Citi Outlook 2020 conference in London. Citi Private Bank is confident that 2020 will be brighter than many expect.

Citi stated on their website that global growth will surprise positively, feeding through into modest corporate earnings growth. In turn, this should buoy equity markets and cause longer-term rates to rise by more than the consensus expects.

About the future of the industry, Citi said: ''We urge you to cut through the negative noise, focus on hard economic data, and stay fully invested.''

About Frederic Michel-Verdier

Funds professional specializing in infrastructure equity investments and asset management.Funds veteran specializing in infrastructure equity investments and asset management. An infrastructure investment involves investing in large scale projects like building roads, railways, seaports, airports, telecoms, electricity generation, gas or electricity transmission or distribution, water or sewerage. Infrastructure can also be defined as any ‘real asset’, taking the form of energy, roads, bridges, or anything that is conducive to building and maintaining society.

Mr Michel-Verdier is a leading figure in the industry, read this blog again for the latest from the world of infrastructure. Visit the Frederic Michel Verdier Angel.co profile for his social links. Keep on top of the latest news and views from the industry on the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog here.

 Frederic Michel-Verdier shares about zero waste and carbon by 2025

Frederic Michel-Verdier on Alliancing benefits

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. Frederic Michel-Verdier is an infrastructure veteran. On some level, we all know about the importance of relationships. I've had people tell me “invest in your relationships” because investing in the infrastructure of your relationships is just as important as investing in the infrastructure of your code and products. And by sharing this, I'm hoping you can learn it much faster than I did.

Learn Best Practices Early to Accelerate Your Growth

On some level, we all know about the importance of relationships. When you don't know the best practices, it's hard to feel that time in an area is well-spent, especially for someone as passionate about the effectiveness as I am! Just like there are design patterns for code, there are also design patterns for building high-trust and effective relationships in teams. And these best practices can provide step functions of improvement in the quality of the relationships, just like they do for codebases. One of those best practices in designing your work relationships as alliances.

Design Your Work Relationships as Alliances

Frederick Michel Verdier on the Benefits of Attending Business Excellence Awards

Welcome to the Frederick Michel Verdier blog. On 21st of November 2019, Frederick Michel Verdier attended the IJGlobal  Awards 2019 were organisations across the international infrastructure and energy sectors celebrate the best-in-class transactions. Frederick Michel Verdier, a Funds veteran specializing in infrastructure equity investments and asset management, explains how entering awards can bring you closer to achieving your business goals. So, read on to discover very good reasons why the search for silverware can make a business truly shine.

Frederic Michel-Verdier shares tips to avoid utility disruption

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. Frederic Michel-Verdier is an infrastructure veteran. Today, Frederic Michel-Verdier gives us some great examples of work they’re doing to avoid strikes, and these are some of his helpful tips:

Frederic Michel-Verdier shares stakeholder engagement and advocacy key to infrastructure projects

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. Frederic Michel-Verdier has held various directorship positions on the boards of Spanish FCC Acqualia, Turkish Mersin International Port, and was Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Veolia Energia Polska and Veolia Energia Lodz.  Looking at the role of stakeholder engagement and advocacy in infrastructure projects, Frederic Michel-Verdier provides his top tips.

Brexit negotiations are in the early stages, and uncertainty around the topic remains. One thing that’s clear, however, is the importance of continuing investment in major infrastructure, to drive growth.  So where do stakeholder engagement and advocacy fit in? The answer - it’s the key to making these projects happen!

Frederic Michel Verdier

Stakeholder engagement means building relationships with the communities and groups that are interested in your project and creating opportunities for decision-makers to hear from the people their decisions directly affect - the stakeholders. Engaging with stakeholders means better policy decisions are made.

For example, engaging with disabled people’s organizations and involving them early in shaping your scheme will ensure you get things right the first time, rather than spending money on expensive retrofitting later. Involving local communities in plans will also help improve a project. After all, local people are often experts on what will and won’t work for their area. And importantly when people feel they’ve been listened to and have had an opportunity to contribute, they’re more likely to become advocates for a project.

What is an advocate, and why do we need them?

Advocates are people, or groups, who are willing to support your project. They can help make the case for and shape the scheme. And stakeholder advocates will applaud delivery of the project if their views have been considered and things have been done well.

Infrastructure projects, especially major ones, need advocates from a range of sectors; including business, industry, communities, campaign groups and equalities groups. As an example, young people, and the organisations which represent them can be fantastic advocates for your project.
By involving young people, we will ignite interest in engineering and related careers. Young people are a major stakeholder group, so we need to get our infrastructure schemes right for them.

Do infrastructure projects need stakeholder advocates to make them happen?

The answer to this is undoubted "yes!" If we spend time engaging a range of stakeholders on infrastructure schemes, it will not only help to gain their support but will also help drive the project forward.

At which stage can stakeholders help your infrastructure project?

Stakeholders can help at every stage in an infrastructure project’s progress, from initial concept right through to delivery.  If you take your stakeholders with you on the project’s journey, and provide meaningful involvement, from design through construction to operation, they can help you turn a good scheme into a great scheme.

 Frederic Michel-Verdier's top tips:

So we know that stakeholder engagement is vital to a project’s success.  If you want to improve stakeholder engagement on your project but aren’t sure where to start, you may wish to consider my top five tips:

1. Identify your stakeholders: The first stage of stakeholder engagement is to carry out a thorough mapping exercise to identify and understand your stakeholders, and their views of the project.
2. Have the conversation: This is a major part of stakeholder engagement. Don’t be scared to talk to your stakeholders. All interested groups have the right to be heard.
3. Engage early and often: It’s important to make contact with your stakeholders early on in the project. I’d recommend going above and beyond what planning law requires. 
4. Aim to build advocacy among your stakeholders: You should engage with a wide range of stakeholder groups and aim to build advocacy for your project by carrying out top-quality, meaningful engagement. This will help make the case for your project, drive it forward and protect its reputation. But, be aware, building advocacy is a long-term process. It doesn’t happen overnight. 
5. Consider the impact of social media: Social media can be an excellent tool for promoting your project. 

Check back for more!

Frederic Michel-Verdier served as a board observer at FCC Aqualia, the Spanish water management company in which he led the acquisition of a 49% from FCC last year. He was vice-chairman since 2010 of the supervisory board of Polish heating networks operator Veolia Energia Polska, in which he led the acquisition of a 40% stake.  Learn more about the work of Frederic Michel-Verdier here. Check out Frederic Michel-Verdier's 'guide to infrastructure financing here. Alternatively, you can also join Frederic Michel-Verdier's professional network by connecting on Frederic Michel-Verdier Crunchbase.

Frederic Michel-Verdier on IFS Investors acquiring a minority stake in Spanish water management company FCC Aqualia. 

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. Frederic Michel-Verdier spent three years with EY in Paris, where he was involved in audit and transaction services across a variety of sectors. According to a statement by IFM Investors, the investment manager has entered an agreement to acquire a 49 per cent stake in the water management company which saw the aggregate purchase price come to €1,024 million. FCC Aqualia is an end-to-end water management company representing 23 per cent of the Spanish water management market that oversees all stages of the water cycle, from drinking water supply to wastewater treatment, the statement said. Commenting on the acquisition, IFM Investors executive director for Europe Frederic Michel-Verdier said this was a “rare opportunity to invest in a fast growing, international leader in water management”.

Frederic Michel-Verdier

“We admire the company’s strategy of ambitious but prudent growth outside of its domestic market and its commitment to customer service,” Mr Michel-Verdier said. “We look forward to contributing our expertise in the water sector to further the development of its services in Spain, France and internationally.”

Welcome to the Frederic Michel-Verdier blog. Infrastructure veteran Frederic Michel-Verdier has left IFM Investors after more than a decade at the global fund manager. IFM wrote in an emailed statement to Inframation that Michel-Verdier left at the end last week to “pursue personal business interests”.

Frederic Michel-Verdier was IFM’s lead partner on its acquisition in May of a 30% stake in the Deep Container Terminal Gdansk in Poland from Macquarie, alongside PSA International and the Polish Development Fund. In 2018, he advised on IFM’s acquisition of a 40% stake in Mersin International Port, later joining the Turkish company’s board. He also served as a board observer at FCC Aqualia, the Spanish water management company in which he led the acquisition of a 49% from FCC last year. He was vice-chairman since 2010 of the supervisory board of Polish heating networks operator Veolia Energia Polska, in which he led the acquisition of a 40% stake.

“Since 2008, Mr Michel-Verdier has been instrumental in developing the London office through strategic relationships and partnerships for the long-term benefit of our investors and their members and has played a key role in a number of our most successful infrastructure investments including the acquisitions of Veolia Poland, FCC Aqualia, Mersin International Port and Deep Container Terminal Gdansk,” the company said. “We wish him all the very best for the future. We
 are in the process of replacing Mr. Michel-Verdier with an equivalent investment executive.”
Frederic joined IFM Investors after an 11-year career as an M&A banker at ING Barings in London and SG Corporate & Investment Banking in Paris, where he covered the utilities, transports and telecom sectors. He was responsible for a wide range of cross-borders transactions, public and private. He initially advised governments on privatisation in Central & Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria…) but also in North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt) focusing on telecom and utilities.

Prior to his banking career, Frederic also spent three years with EY in Paris, where he was involved in audit and transaction services across a variety of sectors. His role at IFM meant he was responsible for relationship and partnership development as well as sourcing, evaluating, implementing and managing investments. At IFM, Michel-Verdier was coordinating the deal sourcing effort in Europe and was responsible for relationship and partnership development as well as the evaluation, implementation, and management of investments.

He held various directorship positions on the boards of Spanish FCC Acqualia, Turkish Mersin International Port, and was Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Veolia Energia Polska and Veolia Energia Lodz. An IFM spokesperson said the manager is “in the process of replacing Michel-Verdier with an equivalent investment executive”.

When asked about the future of infrastructure investment, Mr. Michel-Verdier commented “Infrastructure has a low correlation with other asset classes and offers protection against inflation and economic cyclicality. Yields are also steady and have good long-term visibility. However, in this low rate and high liquidity environment, expertise in asset management has become crucial to de-risk the investments and add value through asset transitions, strategic initiatives, operational insights, and capital management.” He further added, “European governments are introducing stricter screening rules on foreign direct investments, and partnering with the right local investors is a way to enhance acceptability for any acquisition of strategic infrastructure assets.”

Frederic Michel Verdier is a Funds veteran specializing in infrastructure equity investments and asset management. Learn more about the works of Frederic Michel-Verdier here. The latest Tweets from Frederic Michel Verdier here.  You can also read the latest news and updates of the Frederic Michel-Verdier here.

Frederic Michel-Verdier Biography

Infrastructure veteran Frederic Michel-Verdier has left IFM Investors after more than a decade at the global fund manager. IFM wrote in an emailed statement to Inframation that Michel-Verdier left at the end last week to “pursue personal business interests”. Frederic Michel-Verdier was IFM’s lead partner on its acquisition in May of a 30% stake in the Deep Container Terminal Gdansk in Poland from Macquarie, alongside PSA International and the Polish Development Fund. In 2018, he advised on IFM’s acquisition of a 40% stake in Mersin International Port, later joining the Turkish company’s board. He also served as a board observer at FCC Aqualia, the Spanish water management company in which he led the acquisition of a 49% from FCC last year. He was vice-chairman since 2010 of the supervisory board of Polish heating networks operator Veolia Energia Polska, in which he led the acquisition of a 40% stake.

Frederic Michel-Verdier

“Since 2008, Mr Frederic Michel-Verdier has been instrumental in developing the London office through strategic relationships and partnerships for the long-term benefit of our investors and their members and has played a key role in a number of our most successful infrastructure investments including the acquisitions of Veolia Poland, FCC Aqualia, Mersin International Port and Deep Container Terminal Gdansk,” the company said. “We wish him all the very best for the future. We are in the process of replacing Frederic Michel-Verdier with an equivalent investment executive.”
Frederic Michel-VerdierFrederic joined IFM Investors after an 11-year career as an M&A banker at ING Barings in London and SG Corporate & Investment Banking in Paris, where he covered the utilities, transports and telecom sectors. He was responsible for a wide range of cross-border transactions, public and private. He initially advised governments on privatisation in Central & Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria…) but also in North Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt) focusing on telecom and utilities.
Prior to his banking career, Frederic also spent three years with EY in Paris, where he was involved in audit and transaction services across a variety of sectors.

His role at IFM meant he was responsible for relationship and partnership development as well as sourcing, evaluating, implementing and managing investments. At IFM, Frederic Michel-Verdier was coordinating the deal sourcing effort in Europe and was responsible for relationship and partnership development as well as the evaluation, implementation, and management of investments. He held various directorship positions on the boards of Spanish FCC Aqualia, Turkish Mersin International Port, and was Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Veolia Energia Polska and Veolia Energia Lodz. An IFM spokesperson said the manager is “in the process of replacing Michel-Verdier with an equivalent investment executive”.

When asked about the future of infrastructure investment, Mr. Frederic Michel-Verdier commented “Infrastructure has a low correlation with other asset classes and offers protection against inflation and economic cyclicality. Yields are also steady and have good long-term visibility. However, in this low rate and high liquidity environment, expertise in asset management has become crucial to de-risk the investments and add value through asset transitions, strategic initiatives, operational insights, and capital management.” He further added, “European governments are introducing stricter screening rules on foreign direct investments, and partnering with the right local investors is a way to enhance acceptability for any acquisition of strategic infrastructure assets.”

Find out more about Frederic Michel-Verdier by visiting his website here.