A series of conversations with some of the key leaders and influencers from across the UK infrastructure sector, produced and hosted by journalist and commentator Antony Oliver.
Latest episode
The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 130
Guest: Charlotte Madden, Partner and Co-Head of the Infrastructure Sector, Clifford Chance
Private capital for public assets
In today's podcast we dive into the rapidly evolving world of infrastructure investment — a space that has moved from the periphery of specialist portfolios to the centre of global capital markets.
Once the preserve of a relatively narrow group of pension funds and specialist investors, infrastructure has now become a truly universal asset class, attracting sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, private equity houses and retail capital.
And it’s an asset class that promises stable, long-term returns while underpinning the physical and digital systems that our economies depend upon.
Joining me to today to help understand why we are seeing these huge and profound changes – and why they matter - is Charlotte Madden, Partner and Co-Head of the Infrastructure Sector at global law firm Clifford Chance.
Charlotte specialises in advising private equity and infrastructure funds on complex domestic and cross-border M&A, often involving highly regulated transactions. She has helped deliver the deals that make critical infrastructure happen, from the earliest structuring stages through to completion.
And in the UK, the stakes could not be higher. The government has set out an ambitious £725 billion infrastructure pipeline, with more than half of that expected to come from the private sector. From energy security and clean transport to housing and digital connectivity, these projects are central to national growth plans — yet the tension between private investment and public service delivery remains a live and often polarising debate.
It's a complex subject so let’s dig in …
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The power behind The Infrastructure Podcast
Antony Oliver Consulting
Editorial consultancy services for the infrastructure sector
Antony works with a range of clients across the infrastructure sector, helping to boost their communication and marketing strategies and delivery so as to stimulate discussion and action in the industry.
This work includes:
- editorial support and creation
- event organisation, preparation and delivery
- round table discussion hosting and workshop/team facilitation
- video and podcasting
He has spent the last 30 years working as a journalist and editor across the infrastructure sector. Having joined New Civil Engineer magazine in 1994, he edited the title for 14 years until 2013, expanding NCE from a traditional paper magazine to deliver live events and conferences and then embrace the expanding world of multi-media digital delivery.
In 2014 he left NCE to create and launch Infrastructure Intelligence, a new digital-first publication for the sector, and for two years led and developed this ground-breaking media brand for the Association for Engineering and Consultancy.
He is a chartered civil engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, having started his career with Owen Williams and Partners and Balfour Beatty. He is committed to driving change across the UK infrastructure sector and is a Trustee of the Built Environment Trust and a Director of the Building Centre in Store Street, London.
antony@antonyoliver.com
The next episode of the Infrastructure Podcast will be published on Monday 22nd September 2025.
