Investment Update

RNS Number : 8996R

Octopus Renewables Infra Trust PLC

03 July 2020

 

3 July 2020

LEI: 213800B81BFJKWM2JV13

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc

("ORIT" or the "Company")

Investment Update

The pipeline of renewable energy investments identified by Octopus Investments Limited, the Company's investment manager (the "Investment Manager"), as potentially suitable for acquisition by the Company, and over which the Company either has exclusivity or the Investment Manager has submitted non-binding offers over, has grown since IPO and currently stands at approximately £1.7bn.

The pipeline includes 333MW of projects that are under exclusivity to the Company, including operational and construction ready solar PV projects and construction ready onshore wind projects, located in the UK, France and Spain. In addition to the above pipeline, the Investment Manager has identified a further £2.2 billion of operational and construction ready renewable energy investments in the UK, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Australia that are potentially suitable for acquisition by the Company.

The Company has to date committed approximately 59% of the net proceeds raised at its IPO in December 2019 and the Board and the Investment Manager are confident that the balance of the IPO proceeds will be committed by early autumn.

Dividend Guidance*

Despite the reduction in energy demand and drops in short and medium term power prices due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the timing of ORIT's IPO and recent transactions has ensured that the vast majority of the  recent energy price falls have been incorporated into the prices paid for investments.

With the level of contracted revenues from the Company's operational assets in the UK and the visibility the Board and the Investment Manager have over the near term pipeline, the Board today reconfirms the Company's dividend target for the period from IPO on 10 December 2019 to 31 December 2020 ("FY2020") of an initial annualised dividend yield of 3%, by reference to the IPO issue price of £1.00 per ordinary share.

In line with the guidance provided at IPO, the first interim dividend for the period from IPO to 30 June 2020 ("First Interim Dividend") is expected to be paid in August 2020, with a quarterly declaration thereafter*.

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

"The Board is encouraged by the progress that the Manager has and continues to achieve, including the development of the pipeline since IPO. We are pleased to be able to re-confirm our dividend guidance today and look forward to updating shareholders as the Company continues to make further progress."

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, commented:

" Our pipeline of potential investments has continued to grow and, aligns with the Company's strategy of targeting investments that are diverse in both geography and assets. We are seeing a broad range of opportunities and are actively pursuing several further potential investments for the Company. This will enable us to achieve our goal of unlocking value in the renewable infrastructure sector, while contributing to the efforts to combat climate change.

We monitor the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our assets and pipeline on an ongoing basis. To date, the operability of our solar farms has not been materially affected. We are continuing to work closely with our construction partners on the Ljungbyholm wind farm in Sweden and can confirm the project is on schedule."

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 (Corporate Broking) Alex Howe, Chris Bunstead, Ed Welsby (Sales)	020 7418 8900
Buchanan (Financial PR) Charles Ryland, Kelsey Traynor, Hannah Ratcliff	020 7466 5000
PraxisIFM ( Company Secretary ) Brian Smith, Tom Daish	020 7653 9690

*The dividend and return targets stated in this announcement are targets only and not profit forecasts. There can be no assurance that these targets will be met, or that the Company will make any distributions at all and they should not be taken as an indication of the Company's expected future results. The Company's actual returns will depend upon a number of factors, including but not limited to the Company's net income and level of ongoing charges. Accordingly, potential investors should not place any reliance on these targets and should decide for themselves whether or not the target dividend and target net total shareholder return are reasonable or achievable. Investors should note that references in this announcement to "dividends" and "distributions" are intended to cover both dividend income and income which is designated as an interest distribution for UK tax purposes and therefore subject to the interest streaming regime applicable to investment trusts.

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 2.6GW 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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