PRESS RELEASE

 

RiverRock and Willis Towers Watson’s ESIF funds acquire the Triavium Ice Rink and Events Facility in Nijmegen, the Netherlands

RiverRock, an alternative asset management firm which invests in real assets and private debt in Europe, in consortium with Willis Towers Watson, the provider of investment consulting and solutions, including specialist funds and fiduciary management to pension plans, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds worldwide, are pleased to announce the acquisition of the Triavium Facility (www.triavium.nl), a multifunctional building complex for ice skating, events and catering located in Nijmegen (The Netherlands) from T&L Vastgoed B.V. (“T&L”). The investment is funded via the RiverRock Brownfield Infrastructure Fund I (“RBIF1“) alongside the Towers Watson Euro Secure Income Fund (“ESIF”).

The Triavium is an ice rink and event complex located in the district Dukenburg in Nijmegen. The complex was opened in October 1996 and is leased and operated primarily by the City of Nijmegen. It has an ice rink, an ice hockey rink and a fun rink for children. The multiple BeNe League champions Nijmegen Devils play their ice hockey home games in the stadium (1,500 seat capacity). On the Dutch energy-sustainability ranking, the complex scores the highest energy efficiency ranking.

The Municipality of Nijmegen says “The Triavium has tremendous importance to Nijmegen and our community. We’re very proud that our ice rink has been facilitating fun & sports for adults & children of all ages & abilities over the years, and we’re excited to continue providing our community with the enjoyable experience that we have become known for.”

RiverRock will manage the investment on behalf of the consortium. To support its operation of the Facility, it has retained Beheer Solutions (financial and technical manager) and Haystack Corporation (strategic) for the asset management of the Triavium Facility.

RiverRock will also work with Haystack Corporation (www.haystackcorp.com) in the expansion of its franchise in the Netherlands.

Launched in late 2018, RBIF1 is a fund specialising in the investment and management of participations in small and medium-sized PPP-type projects located in the Euro area. The fund targets long term investments and partnerships with local authorities. This is the first transaction of RBIF1 in the Netherlands and the fourth for the fund, which now holds and manages 24 social infrastructure projects in Europe backed by public counterparties. In line with its Principles, RiverRock is committed to address Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) challenges in its investments, as well as remaining a partner to, and long-term investor in these important social infrastructure projects.

Launched in early 2019, ESIF is designed to help Euro-denominated pension funds access secure income assets and is available to investors in Europe and elsewhere. It allocates its investments across Europe, principally focusing on the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, France and Spain.

The funds invest in assets that have one or more characteristics:

• Long term cash flows which are likely to exhibit a degree of inflation linkage;
• Cash flows which are secured through leases, concession agreements or other forms of contract with strong counterparties; and
• Having most of their economic value based on contractual cash flows as opposed to the Residual Asset value.

RiverRock and Willis Towers Watson have been advised by Roodhals Capital (Financial Advisor), NautaDutilh (Legal and Tax), Cushman & Wakefield (Valuation), Sweco (Technical) and The Stadium Consultancy (Strategic). T&L has been advised by Haystack Corporation (Strategic and transaction management) and Lexence (Legal).

About RiverRock www.riverrock.eu

RiverRock European Capital Partners LLP is an alternative asset management firm which invests in private markets and real assets. It is headquartered in London and with offices in Paris, Milan and Madrid.

RBIF1 is a closed-end fund which is domiciled in Luxembourg, managed by RiverRock and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (“CSSF”). RBIF1 invests in core European Infrastructure equity and focuses on operating PPP assets, primarily those with availability-based revenues. The geographic focus is Euro-denominated Western Europe.

RiverRock is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

About Willis Towers Watson Investments

Willis Towers Watson’s Investments business is focused on creating financial value for institutional investors through its expertise in risk assessment, strategic asset allocation, fiduciary management and investment manager selection. It has over 900 professionals worldwide, assets under advisory of over US$2.3 trillion and over US$87 billion of assets under management.

The Towers Watson Euro Secure Income Fund (ESIF) is a sub-fund of Towers Watson Investment Management Ireland 1 plc, an investment company with variable capital authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as an umbrella fund with segregated liability between its sub-funds. The authorised Alternative Investment Fund Manager of the funds is Towers Watson Investment Management (Ireland) Limited, of Willis Towers Watson House, Elm Park Business Campus, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, Ireland, which is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Towers Watson Investment Management Limited, the investment manager of ESIF, is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.

For further enquiries please contact R. Lubbers from Haystack Corporation [email protected] or O. Sueur from RiverRock.