First Investment since IPO

RNS Number : 5685F

Octopus Renewables Infra Trust PLC

10 March 2020

 

10 March 2020

LEI: 213800B81BFJKWM2JV13

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc

("ORIT" or the "Company")

First Investment since IPO

Acquisition: Construction-Ready Swedish Wind Project

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts on its first investment, the acquisition of Ljungbyholm Wind Farm, a construction-ready onshore wind farm project. Completion is expected to take place shortly, at which point the Company will have acquired 100% of the wind farm from OX2 (the "Vendor") for a cash consideration, including future construction payments, of €68m (approximately £59m).

The Company expects construction on the project, which is located in the Kalmar municipality in South Sweden, to begin shortly and complete in mid-2021. Current plans project that the wind farm will be fully operational in the second half of 2021. The construction will be carried out by an affiliate of the Vendor, under a fixed-price turnkey construction contract. The wind farm, consisting of 12 turbines, is expected to have an operating life of 30 years with a total capacity of 48 MW. The construction is expected to be completed without debt finance at the project level, allowing the Company flexibility to optimise the strategy for power sales over time.

The Company, which raised gross proceeds of £350 million in its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in December 2019, is targeting investment in construction, construction-ready and operational renewable energy infrastructure assets across the UK, wider Europe and Australia. Today's investment amounts to approximately 17% of the net IPO proceeds and is the first in a pipeline of opportunities that Octopus Investments is currently pursuing on behalf of the Company.

This project forms part of the further renewable energy investments identified by Octopus Investments and disclosed in the Company's prospectus dated 19 November 2019.

Phil Austin, Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc, commented:

"I am delighted to announce our first investment, into a construction ready wind project in Sweden. This investment marks our first step towards building a diversified portfolio of renewable energy assets aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change."

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, commented:

"We are pleased to announce our first acquisition on behalf of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust. Scandinavia is an attractive market due to the possibility of combining high levels of wind resource with the latest wind turbine technology, and we are delighted to have had the opportunity to acquire this asset in southern Sweden. Furthermore, acquisition of the Ljungbyholm Wind Farm may lead to further opportunities for collaboration with OX2, one of Scandinavia's leading renewable energy developers.

Since IPO our pipeline has continued to grow and we are actively pursuing a number of opportunities for the Company in our target markets across the UK, wider Europe and Australia. This first investment is in line with the timelines anticipated at IPO and over the coming weeks and months we look forward to updating shareholders on our progress towards deploying the balance of the IPO funds."

For further information please contact:

Octopus Investments Limited (Investment Manager) Matt Setchell, Chris Gaydon	Via Buchanan
Peel Hunt (Broker) Liz Yong, Luke Simpson, Tom Pocock	020 7418 8900
Buchanan (Financial PR) Charles Ryland, Kelsey Traynor, Hannah Ratcliff	020 7466 5000
PraxisIFM ( Company Secretary )	020 7653 9690

Notes to editors

About Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc is a closed end investment company incorporated in England and Wales focused on providing investors with an attractive and sustainable level of income returns, with an element of capital growth, by investing in a diversified portfolio of renewable energy assets in Europe and Australia. Octopus Investments Limited acts as the Investment Manager to the Company.

Further details can be found at www.octopusrenewablesinfrastructure.com

About Octopus Renewables

Octopus Renewables, part of Octopus Investments and the wider Octopus Group, is a specialist clean energy investment manager with a mission to accelerate the transition to a future powered by renewable energy. Since 2010, Octopus Renewables has, on behalf of its clients, invested in a diverse portfolio of assets with a capacity of over 2.5GW and is now the largest commercial solar investor in Europe and a leading UK investor in onshore wind. Octopus Renewables is co-led by Matt Setchell and Alex Brierley and has over 70 employees in the UK and Australia.

Further details can be found at www.octopusrenewables.com

Neither the content of any website referred to in this announcement nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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