3i Infrastructure triples return, raises dividend target

(Releads, adds dividend, domicile detail)

By Dasha Afanasieva

LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - Investment fund 3i Infrastructure said it would increase its target dividend for the current financial year by 10 percent after tripling its total return for the previous 12 months.

Its total return was 480 million pounds ($648 million) in the year to the end of March after it sold stakes in Finnish power company Elenia and British water company Anglian Water, up from 146.3 million pounds in the previous year.

It also said it would move its tax domicile and management of the company to Britain from Jersey with effect from October 1 because of tax changes recommended by the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) - part of a crackdown on the exploitation of gaps and mismatches in tax rules to shift profits to no-tax locations.

"This would be significantly negative if we didn't do it," Phil White, Managing Partner, Infrastructure of 3i Investments plc told Reuters.

The London-listed group's return amounted to 28.6 percent on adjusted opening net asset value, exceeding the medium term target of 8 percent to 10 percent a year.

"The outstanding return delivered through the sales of Anglian Water Group and Elenia has underpinned a very strong year for the Company," White said.

"As well as the special dividend paid in March, the proceeds have been invested to further diversify and balance our portfolio," he added on Friday. ($1 = 0.7402 pounds)

(Reporting by Dasha Afanasieva Editing by Alexander Smith)