ELWA Frog Island MBT Facility

RNS Number : 5535O

John Laing Environmental Assets Grp

07 August 2014

 



7 August 2014

JOHN LAING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS GROUP LIMITED

Fire at ELWA Frog Island MBT Facility

John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited ("JLEN" or the "Company") can confirm that there has been a fire at the Frog Island Mechanical Biological Treatment ("MBT") facility in East London (the "Frog Island Facility"), which is one of the two MBT facilities forming part of the East London Waste Authority ("ELWA") PFI project.  The ELWA PFI project is one of the seven projects comprising JLEN's environmental infrastructure portfolio.

The Company is, first and foremost, pleased that an efficient fire procedure meant that no one was injured and the fire is under control. The Company is also very grateful to the fire services for ensuring that there was no risk to the public.

Whilst the extent of the damage is currently being assessed, this incident is not expected to impact the Company's ability to pay its target dividend amount as set out in its IPO prospectus issued in February 2014*. The Frog Island Facility carries appropriate insurance and the Company anticipates reinstatement of the part of the facility affected once agreed with the insurers to the project. 

The site's incident management and business continuity procedures were implemented by the facilities operator, Shanks, without delay and worked as planned. Contingency plans have been put in place and in the interim Shanks has utilised the ELWA project's other MBT facility at Jenkins Lane to receive most of the waste from the East London Boroughs it serves that was destined for the Frog Island Facility. Shanks and the East London Waste Authority continue to monitor the situation closely and are working together with the constituent councils to continue providing the client's waste treatment requirements under the contract and minimise the impact on the local collection of waste.

A further announcement will be made once full access to the site is possible and the extent of damage and any impact on the Company can be better assessed.

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For Further Details Contact:

John Laing Capital Management Limited David Hardy Chris Tanner	020 7901 3200
Redleaf Polhill Rebecca Sanders-Hewett Henry Columbine Charlie Geller	020 7382 4769

*Such target dividend amount is a targeted amount only and not a profit forecast.  The Company's ability to declare and make any dividend payments will depend on a number of factors.  There can be no assurance that its target dividend payments will be met or that the Company will make any distributions at all.

About JLEN

JLEN's investment policy is to invest in environmental infrastructure projects that have the benefit of long-term, predictable, wholly or partially inflation-linked cash flows supported by long-term contracts or stable regulatory frameworks.

Environmental Infrastructure is defined by the Company as infrastructure projects that utilise natural or waste resources or support more environmentally-friendly approaches to economic activity. This could involve the generation of renewable energy (including solar, wind, hydropower and biomass technologies), the supply and treatment of water, the treatment and processing of waste, and projects that promote energy efficiency.

Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.jlen.com

 

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