Agreement to acquire Southport RDF Project

RNS Number : 9831M

EQTEC PLC

27 September 2021

 

27 September 2021

EQTEC plc

("EQTEC", the "Company" or the "Group")

Agreement to acquire Southport RDF Project and Related Party Transaction

EQTEC plc (AIM: EQT), a world-leading gasification solutions company building the future of a cleaner waste-to-energy industry , is pleased to announce that the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Southport WTV Limited (the "Buyer"), has signed a Share Purchase Agreement (the "SPA") with Rotunda Group Ltd ("Rotunda") and its subsidiary Shankley Biogas Ltd, to acquire full ownership of the Southport Hybrid Energy Park project (the "Project") from Rotunda through the acquisition of Shankley Biogas Ltd (the "Project SPV"). 

Highlights

• Initial consideration of £382,000 from which the existing exclusivity payment of £100,000 will be deducted, is payable on the achievement of certain conditions precedent related to development milestones of the Project on or before a date 12 months from the date of signing of the SPA;
• One of the conditions precedent is that the Company is granted a lease in relation to the Project sufficient for the development and operation of the Project and on terms generally acceptable to the Buyer and any funder (in their entire discretion); and
• The issue of a fixed dividend share in the Buyer to Rotunda, which gives Rotunda the right to 20% of distributable profits in Southport WTV Limited. This share carries no voting rights or entitlement to dividends in EQTEC.

David Palumbo, CEO of EQTEC, commented:

"I'm delighted that EQTEC is taking another RDF-to-energy project in the UK to the next stage of development. In signing this agreement to acquire the Project SPV for Southport, we are closer to bringing an innovative and sustainable type of waste-to-energy facility to the local community, where we will source excess municipal, commercial and industrial waste from the surrounding area and convert it with our Advanced Gasification Technology into green electricity. The transaction also supports our strategy to incubate innovative energy transition projects applying EQTEC technology, to then sell forward and bill for our development services, technology solutions and maintenance."

About the Southport RDF-to-energy Project

The RDF-to-energy project comprises land at Watts Industrial Estate,   Crowland Street,   Southport, Merseyside , where the site has pre-existing Phase 1 permission to transform 80,000 tonnes of waste in a waste management and anaerobic digestion facility, and   9MWe with 2MW o f battery storage , exporting   11MWe to the grid annually . The intended Phase 2 includes the addition of an advanced gasification facility. The Company will provide updates as to revised Phase 1 and the intended Phase 2 planning submission in due course . The proposed plant, if approved, could convert over 55,000 tonnes of RDF annual for an estimated additional 6MWe to 8MWe of green electricity. A pre-planning consultation has been carried out with the local authority whereby Phase 1 and Phase 2 master plans were welcomed by the local authority and given their support.

EQTEC expects to act as the project developer on the Project, providing the design and core Advanced Gasification Technology and retain a portion of the O&M contract after commissioning. As the Project matures toward Financial Close, the Company intends to sell a majority equity position on the Project SPV and invoice the Project SPV for development services fees provided.

Related Party Transaction

During the twelve-month period ending 30 June 2021, Mr Ian Pearson, the Company's Non-Executive Chairman, provided additional Consultancy Services to the Group on ESG, Sustainability Reporting and public policy/government engagement, in the amount of €116,261 (the "Consultancy Services").

Ian Pearson is a Director of the Company and, as such, is a related party as defined in the AIM Rules. As a result, the payment to him for the Consultancy Services is a related party transaction pursuant to Rule 13 of the AIM Rules. Accordingly, the independent directors of the Company (being those directors other than Ian Pearson), having consulted with the Company's Nominated Adviser, Strand Hanson Limited, consider the terms of the payment for Consultancy Services to be fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.

This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 and has been announced in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of that Regulation.

ENQUIRIES

EQTEC plc	[phone]
David Palumbo / N auman Babar
Strand Hanson - Nomad & Financial Adviser	[phone]
James Harris / James Dance
Arden Partners - Joint Broker	[phone]
Paul Shackleton (Corporate) / Simon Johnson (Sales)
Canaccord Genuity - Joint Broker	[phone]
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio / Patrick Dolaghan
Alma PR - Financial Media & Investor Relations	[phone]
Josh Royston / Sam Modlin	[e-mail]
BECG - General Media Enquiries	[phone] / [phone]
Carrie Lowe / Tom Gosschalk	[e-mail]

About EQTEC plc

As one of the world's most experienced gasification technology and engineering companies, with a growing track record of delivering operational and commercial success for transforming waste-to-energy through best-in-class technology innovation, engineering and project development , EQTEC brings together design innovation, project delivery discipline and solid commercial experience to add momentum to the global energy transition. EQTEC's proven, proprietary and patented technology is at the centre of clean energy projects, sourcing local waste, championing local businesses, creating local jobs and supporting the transition to localised, decentralised and resilient energy systems.

EQTEC designs, supplies and builds advanced gasification facilities in the UK, EU and US, with highly efficient equipment that is modular and scalable from 1MW to 30MW. EQTEC's versatile solutions process over 50 varieties of feedstock, including forestry wood waste, vegetation and other agricultural waste from farmers, industrial waste and sludge from factories and municipal waste, all with no hazardous or toxic emissions . EQTEC's solutions produce a pure, high-quality synthesis gas ("syngas") that can be used for the widest range of applications, including the generation of electricity and heat, production of synthetic natural gas (through methanation) or biofuels (through Fischer-Tropsch, gas-to-liquid processing) and reforming of hydrogen.

EQTEC's technology integration capabilities enable the Group to lead collaborative ecosystems of qualified partners and to build sustainable waste reduction and green energy infrastructure around the world.

The Company is quoted on AIM (ticker: EQT) and the London Stock Exchange has awarded EQTEC the Green Economy Mark, which recognises listed companies with 50% or more of revenues from environmental/green solutions.

Further information on the Company can be found at www.eqtec.com .

 

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