Frank Schramm, who has co-managed BBGI Global Infrastructure (BBGI ) since it floated in 2011, is set to retire, leaving the trust in the hands of Duncan Ball, who will become sole CEO.

To ensure a ‘seamless transition’, Schramm, who is retiring for ‘personal reasons’, will remain in the position until the end of January next year and will then become an advisor to the business until December 2024.

Ball, who has been co-CEO with Schramm since the launch of the trust in 2011, will be supported by Luxembourg-based Michael Denny, who has been CFO since 2012 and will take on the additional role of COO.

Sarah Whitney, chair of the trust, which has a portfolio of £1.05bn of assets, said Scramm is leaving the company and portfolio ‘in a robust shape with a strong management team in place to take it forward successfully’.

Schramm said he was ‘confident that now is the right time for me to retire, BBGI has a great team and business with a low-risk investment strategy that is well-placed to continue to deliver attractive and sustainable value to all stakeholders’.

The company has also appointed Andreas Parzych to the management board of the company, subject to regulatory approval. Parzych has been a director of business development in Europe and North America for BBGI since 2016.

Schramm and his team have grown the company from 19 assets at IPO to 56 assets. The company, which is trading on a 12% discount, has seen its underlying asset value grow 33.6% in the past three years, outperforming its Association of Investment Company peer group, which is up 28.8%. However, the shares are down 13% in that period compared to the sector’s 3.4% decline.

Since its inception, net asset value returns have outperformed its benchmark of the FTSE All Share delivering 170% compared to 127%,  while the share price has slightly underperformed at 121%.

 BBGI performance since inception

Source:Morningstar