Infrastructure manager Hastings announced last week that it has continued its expansion and made three new appointments in its London and New York offices, further strengthening the firm's global footprint in key markets.

Hastings now has more than 35 per cent of its staff covering the European and North American markets from these strategically located offices. Consistent with Hastings' approach, each of these appointments brings local market experience, further diversifying Hastings' sector capabilities.

Hastings Chief Executive Andrew Day said:

"These appointments strengthen our capabilities in areas in which we see significant growth potential for the firm and its clients globally. Each individual brings extensive sector experience and relationships, which we believe will help us continue to build our reputation as a specialist infrastructure investment partner for our clients, combining global knowledge with local insight."

Antonio Botija and Daniel Lee have joined the Hastings's Global Investments team in London and New York, respectively.Anne-Noelle Le Gal has joined the Global Asset Management team in London.

With more than 12 years industry experience Mr Botija joins Hastings from Infracapital Partners, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Investments/Prudential where he was involved in a number of Infracapital's landmark infrastructure investments. Mr Botija previously worked at UBS Investment Bank in the Infrastructure and Transport Team in London and at Arthur Andersen/Deloitte in Spain. He holds a BSc in Business Administration and a BSc in Law from Universidad Pontificia Comillas, an MBA from INSEAD and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Mr Lee has 10 years of relevant industry experience and is responsible for sourcing and executing new equity infrastructure investments. Recent transactions in which he has been actively involved include the sale of the US$3.8 billion Indiana Toll Road to Cintra and Macquarie, and the sale of Alberta EnviroFuels to Keyera Corp. His earlier experience was in investment banking at Morgan Stanley focusing on mergers and acquisitions and financing ideas for current and prospective clients. Previously, Mr Lee was an investment banking analyst in the Goldman Sachs Public Sector and Infrastructure Group. He holds a BA in American Studies from Northwestern University, and a Juris Doctorate from New York University's School of Law.

Ms Le Gal has asset management responsibility for the firm's European assets, South East Water, Phoenix Natural Gas and AviAlliance Capital. Before joining Hastings, Ms Le Gal spent two years with the private equity firm Core Capital and one of its turnaround investments, and three years at Macquarie Capital in London advising on telecommunication infrastructure transactions. She studied at Paris Dauphine University and holds a Masters in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.

Additionally, Ingrid Weston was appointed to lead the firm's Business Development efforts in Europe and will be based in London. Ms Weston will play a key role in growing and managing Hastings' institutional client relationships across the infrastructure equity and debt capabilities that the firm represents. She joins Hastings with more than 10 years experience in the infrastructure asset class, most recently having worked at StormHarbour Securities where she was responsible for raising capital for infrastructure direct investments and fund products. Ms Weston has also held roles with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, CIFG/Natixis and Standard & Poor's. She holds a BSc in Mathematical Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest and an MSc in Finance, Economics and Econometrics from the Cass Business School in London.

Hastings now has more than 100 staff located in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia and is a leading specialist investor in infrastructure equity and debt, managing more than A$9 billion across a number of funds and mandates for some 70 institutional investors.