Acquisition of Humber Gateway

RNS Number : 0922G

Greencoat UK Wind PLC

23 November 2020

 

GREENCOAT UK WIND PLC

Investment in Humber Gateway offshore wind farm

Greencoat UK Wind PLC (the "Company", or "UKW") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm from RWE, in partnership with a number of pension funds investing through a fund also managed by Greencoat Capital. UKW will acquire a net 38% stake in the wind farm for a consideration of £500m (including cash and working capital), while the pension funds will acquire a net 11% for £148m, with the total cash consideration payable to RWE at completion being £648m. RWE will continue to hold the remaining 51%.

Humber Gateway is located 5 miles off the Yorkshire coast and is serviced from Grimsby in Lincolnshire. The 219MW wind farm was commissioned in June 2015 and comprises 73 Vestas 3MW turbines. The wind farm has a 45% load factor and benefits from 2 ROCs per MWh. RWE will continue to provide operation and maintenance and management services to the wind farm. A route-to-market power purchase agreement is in place.

Following completion, expected to be around the middle of December, the Company will have £1,100m of outstanding debt, equating to 33% of Gross Asset Value.

Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Chairman of UKW, commented: "We are delighted to announce our investment in Humber Gateway, a high load factor, ROC accredited offshore wind farm. This transaction adds another attractive asset to our portfolio which will stand at 38 wind farm investments, with a generating capacity of 1.2GW. We are also very pleased to be able to play our part in the wider development of the wind industry, heralded by recent government announcements, and enabling the continued build out of further offshore generating capacity in the UK."

Laurence Fumagalli of Greencoat Capital commented: "We are pleased to add this sizeable offshore wind farm investment to our portfolio, which builds on the relationship we have with RWE that dates back to 2013 with the acquisition of Rhyl Flats and Little Cheyne Court, seed assets in the IPO. This will be the third investment we have made this year, and we continue to see an attractive pipeline of acquisition opportunities, both onshore and offshore, as we remain committed to our disciplined investment approach."

RBC Europe Limited (trading as RBC Capital Markets) acted as financial advisor to the Company.

For further information, please contact:

Greencoat UK Wind PLC   020 7832 9425

Stephen Lilley

Laurence Fumagalli

Tom Rayner

Headland Consultancy   020 3805 4822

Stephen Malthouse

Rob Walker

Charlie Twigg

[e-mail]

Notes to Editors:

Greencoat UK Wind PLC is the leading listed renewable infrastructure fund, invested in 37 operating UK wind farms with net generating capacity of 1,090MW, pre completion of the Humber Gateway acquisition. The Company's aim is to provide investors with an annual dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation (7.1p for 2020) while preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio in the long term on a real basis through reinvestment of excess cash flow and the prudent use of gearing.

UKW provides investors with the opportunity to participate directly in the ownership of UK wind farms, so increasing the resources and capital dedicated to the deployment of renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

UKW is managed by an experienced team at Greencoat Capital LLP, a leading European renewable investment manager with approximately £5.5 billion of assets under management. UKW is governed by a strong and experienced independent board.

UKW is incorporated in England and Wales and is a UK Investment Trust.

For more information about UKW, please visit http://www.greencoat-ukwind.com

For more information about Greencoat Capital LLP, please visit http://www.greencoat-capital.com

 

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