BlackRock, which announced the recruitment of a new infrastructure-debt team this morning, is the latest fund manager to begin a business helping to arrange bespoke and co-investments for insurers in the sector, as larger investors seek to supplant banks as direct lenders.

BlackRock said this morning it has hired Philippe Benaroya, Chris Wrenn and Gilles Lengaigne, three executives at Blackstone's $55bn private debt management unit, GSO. They will launch a new business known as European Infrastructure Debt, based in London, and will be making further hires.