About
Introduction
Meridian Universal was founded following the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka in 2019, with the purpose of creating a globally diversified Merchant Banking firm focused in supporting sustainable economic growth that creates prosperity and limits risk of civic instability. This mission has led the firm to build a global distribution of institutional investors and deep expertise in select countries around strategic infrastructure. The Founder, having practiced as an Architect and graduated in Civil Engineering, has implemented these theories in pragmatic national development that helps to plug social gaps and directly contribute to job creation and better social outcomes nationally, using infrastructure, real estate and direct sovereign lending programs as master tools that create market-leading investments whilst executing this mission.
Approach
With the world’s issues on climate, economic stability, conflict, and other challenges, there are always problems to solve, but also always solutions that need support. We finance in investment grade and high-yield solutions, including short, medium and long-tenor instruments as required. Our solutions include EUR, USD and GBP investments, where emerging-market domestic currency financings are possible only for shorter-duration investments where there is sufficient liquidity. We have particularly been focusing on energy and transport infrastructure in select emerging markets, given their priority and direct impact on improved connectivity, energy sovereignty, supporting productivity and domestic competitiveness, and improving safety and public health where countries are moving towards greener sources of energy.
The tools we use as part of this problem solving are infrastructure, real estate, and sovereign programs. Infrastructure provides the fundamentals for a functioning and thriving economy, and real estate houses the people and industries that enrich and innovate that economy. Sovereign programs are specific use of proceeds that support projects and programs which have clear social and environmental benefits, including projects or companies which could provide better economic stability in a region. We aim to apply energy-transition methodologies and improvements to each financing objective, in varying degrees of directness.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure underpins the societies we live and function in, and without it, we can’t grow economically. The degree to which infrastructure is developed, maintained, or innovated is directly proportional to the economic prospects of that environment, and also is directly proportional to the energy efficiency of that environment, hence this being the foremost mechanism and tool we use to make impact. Financing infrastructure means enabling the development, construction, acquisition and improvement, repositioning and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, all which will have a measurable positive impact on society and the economy. Examples include energy, transport, and utilities, with sub-sector examples including renewable energy plants, data centres, 5G internet networks, water desalination, ports, airports, and roads.
Real Estate
Real estate assets are the living breathing hubs of living and industrial activity of humanity. We therefore must be constantly improving the standards of these assets, because these are the spaces we continually inhabit, and must not detract from our health, wellbeing, or productivity. The creation, improvement, or ownership of these assets therefore come with responsibility to those who inhabit them, as well as the impact of these assets and spaces on the environment both visually and chemically. Our role in financing the creation, improvement, or ownership of these assets comes with the above-mentioned responsibilities, where clear demonstrable factors must be exhibited in terms of environmental credentials, benefits to the societies who inhabit them, and therefore the wider contribution to the wellbeing and productivity of that space or region. Examples of real estate that we use to have impact are housing, industrial real estate (including warehousing), and logistics-related real estate (including air-cargo warehousing).
Sovereign Programs
Sovereign programs we support are where there are specific use of proceeds that aim to solve national economic, environmental, or social issues as part of an evolving economy that needs to keep adapting for the future. This applies to both developing and developed economies, where the nature of our input ranges from direct sovereign loan programs to strategic debt swaps dealing with climate resilience. Ultimately, our actions aim to strengthen a nations economy, provide liquidity during times of market distress, and help solve treasury management and health issues created from wider macro-economic forces in the international capital markets.
Registration Information
Meridian was registered in 2020, with company registration number 12715659, registered company address Riverbank House, 2 Swan Lane, London, United Kingdom, EC4R 3TT, and is an Appointed Representative of Laven Advisors LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Meridian is a subsidiary of P1F Holdings, which is a UK holding company for P1F Limited, P1F Real Estate, and Meridian Universal. Meridian Universal US Inc. is a 100% owned subsidiary of Meridian Universal Limited, and conducts Meridian’s business in the US. The Firm uses Rothschilds & Co as their Fund Manager, Fieldfisher as UK Legal Counsel, Seward and Kissel as US Legal Counsel, Wilson Wright as Auditors and Accountants, Laven Advisors for UK FCA compliance, ACA Foreside for US SEC compliance, and Kroll US as additional US SEC compliance advisory.