How Nabrel originates, underwrites, structures and oversees each investment.
Every investment is measured against a framework of clear terms, sound governance and lasting viability, and must suit both our own objectives and those of our partners.
Four stages, applied consistently and only where the fit is clear.
We look for operational quality, sound ownership and governance that point to durable potential, and we screen out opportunities that fail on integrity or counterparties before spending time on the numbers.
We test each opportunity on financial, operational and legal grounds. The written case states the assumptions, the downside scenario and what would have to be true for the investment to fail.
We deploy capital under defined oversight, balancing our own participation with that of co-investors, and we settle the terms before closing rather than after.
After investment, we monitor each position against the approved case, track conditions to completion and report to partners, and we plan the route to exit from the start.
Protecting capital
We size debt to what an asset’s contracted or regulated cash flow can service when conditions are poor, not to what lenders are willing to advance. We require that interest and scheduled repayments are covered, with headroom, in a downside case in which volumes fall and costs rise.
We prefer cash reserves for debt service and major maintenance, so that a weak quarter or an unplanned shutdown does not become a default.
Financial and operating covenants are set to signal trouble early enough to act, and the rights of each investor if a covenant is breached are written down in advance.
We specify who is paid first, in what order cash is distributed and what conditions must be met before shareholders receive distributions.
Board representation, information rights and the matters that require investor consent are settled before closing, not negotiated under pressure.
Documents are reviewed by independent counsel, and legal and compliance sign off the position before approval.
Stress testing
Every investment case includes tests such as these.
Underwriting in detail
Condition, location, utilisation, replacement cost and the economics of operating it through the cycle.
Ownership, credit quality, track record and standing of customers, operators and partners, and what happens if a major customer leaves.
The capital stack, order of payment, covenants, reserves and the rights of each party.
Permits, licences, jurisdictional risk, sanctions and compliance considerations.
Decision rights, information rights, reporting and the relationship between investors and operators.
Environmental, social and integrity considerations, assessed alongside financial risk.
Beyond capital, we look to strengthen the businesses we back through procurement and cost discipline, digitalisation and, where appropriate, bolt-on acquisitions, always with the operators who run them.
Partners receive regular reporting. The schedule and information rights are agreed for each transaction, and reports cover performance, risks and any departure from the approved case.
The downside comes first.
We think about the end of an investment at the beginning. Each case identifies the expected holding period and the routes to realise value: a sale to a strategic or financial buyer, a refinancing, or a gradual return of capital from operating cash flow.
Where partners invest alongside us, we agree in advance how and when each party may exit, and what happens if their objectives diverge.
We partner only where objectives, governance standards and terms converge. Each collaboration is considered with discretion and built on incentives that last.
Each opportunity is screened, underwritten in a written case that includes a downside scenario, reviewed independently by legal and compliance, and approved before capital is committed. Any transaction is subject to Investment Committee approval. See Governance for the full process.
We size borrowing to what an asset’s contracted or regulated cash flow can service in a downturn, and we test the terms against a downside case.
We monitor performance against the approved case, track conditions to completion, report to partners on the agreed schedule and plan the route to exit.
Yes. Partners participate alongside Nabrel-sponsored transactions on documented terms agreed in advance.
Perspectives
How family offices are moving from wealth preservation to long-horizon, co-invested capital, and why that matters for energy and infrastructure.
Nabrel
27 October 2026
NABREL