Acquisition of 16 MW UK wind farm

RNS Number : 1810X

Renewables Infrastructure Grp (The)

17 November 2014

 



17 November 2014

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited
("TRIG" or the "Company" and together with the holding company subsidiaries, the "Group")

Acquisition of 16 MW UK wind farm

·    Addition to the TRIG portfolio of an operational UK wind farm with 16 MW generating capacity (the "Earlseat Wind Farm") for consideration of approximately £32 million, subject to certain performance adjustments.

·    TRIG's portfolio now consists of 28 separate project investments with approximately 414 MW of aggregate installed capacity.

Helen Mahy, TRIG's Chairman, said:  "The addition to TRIG's portfolio of the Earlseat Wind Farm represents the tenth project acquisition by TRIG since the acquisition of the initial portfolio of 18 projects at IPO.  This recently commissioned project in Central Scotland provides investors with the benefits of further scale and diversification in line with the Company's investment policy."

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TRIG today announces the acquisition of a 100% interest in Earlseat Wind Farm, an eight turbine operational wind farm with 16 MW of rated generating capacity, located near Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland. 

The project includes eight Vestas V90 2.0 MW wind turbines and was grid-connected in June 2014.  The project, which benefits from the UK's 0.9 ROCs per MWh support scheme, has a 25-year operational life.  Operations and maintenance services are provided by Vestas, with a power purchase agreement in place with GDF SUEZ.

The consideration of approximately £32 million is subject to certain performance adjustments over 18 months following acquisition, reflecting the project's limited operating history, and has been funded from TRIG's acquisition facility.  The project itself is currently unlevered.

The vendor is a private equity investment fund separately managed by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, TRIG's Investment Manager.  Accordingly the transaction process included the procedures as set out in the Company's recent prospectuses, including the conduct of independent due diligence by a specially constituted buy-side committee, the obtaining by TRIG of an independent valuation and approval by TRIG's Board of Directors, all of whom are independent of the Investment Manager.  

Enquiries

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited                              [phone]
Richard Crawford
Matt Dimond

Tulchan Communications                                           [phone]
Martha Walsh
Camilla Cunningham

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                         [phone]
Andrew Zychowski
David Yovichic

Jefferies International Limited                                    [phone]
Gary Gould
Stuart Klein

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Company

TRIG is a leading renewable energy infrastructure company delivering long-term, stable dividends from a diversified portfolio of onshore wind and solar photovoltaic projects in the UK and Northern Europe. The Company is seeking to provide investors with long-term, stable dividends, while preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio through re-investment of surplus cash flows after payment of dividends. TRIG is targeting an aggregate dividend of 6.16 pence per Ordinary Share for the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 and aims to increase this dividend in line with inflation over the medium term.

TRIG currently owns a portfolio of 28 wholly-owned assets in the UK, France and the Republic of Ireland, including the acquisition announced today. 11 of the assets are solar PV parks and 17 of the assets are onshore wind farms. The Group is seeking further suitable investment opportunities which fit its stated Investment Policy.

Further details can be found on TRIG's website at www.trig-ltd.com.

Investment Manager

TRIG's Investment Manager is InfraRed Capital Partners Limited ("InfraRed"). InfraRed is an independent investment business, managing a range of infrastructure and real estate funds and investments. It has a strong record of delivering attractive returns for its investors, with total equity under management of more than US$ 7 billion.  

InfraRed currently has staff of over 100 employees and partners, based mainly in offices in London and with smaller offices in Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong and New York. The infrastructure investment team within the InfraRed Group currently consists of over 50 investment professionals, all of whom have an infrastructure investment background and a broad range of relevant skills, including private equity, structured finance, construction, renewable energy and facilities management.

Since 1998, InfraRed has launched 15 funds including two companies listed on the London Stock Exchange:  HICL Infrastructure Company Limited and TRIG. To date, six of these funds have been completely or materially realised.

InfraRed has a long and successful proven track record in sourcing, structuring, acquiring, managing and financing infrastructure equity investments. It has been responsible for over 160 infrastructure equity investments for the InfraRed Group (including predecessor organisations) and its funds to date.

InfraRed is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Operations Manager

The Operations Manager of the Group is Renewable Energy Systems Limited ("RES"). RES is one of the world's leading renewable energy developers, with extensive experience in developing, financing, constructing and operating renewable energy infrastructure projects globally across a wide range of low carbon technologies including wind, solar and biomass.

RES has been at the forefront of wind energy development for over 30 years.  Since incorporation, RES has developed and/or constructed more than 140 individual wind farms and PV parks around the world with a combined capacity of over 8,000 MW. 

In recognition of extraordinary business success in growing revenues from international markets, RES was awarded its second Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2013, this time for International Trade. Today, projects developed and/or built by RES are contributing to meeting the needs of a rapidly-evolving energy market and, in doing so, are actively contributing to a more sustainable world.

RES's global headcount totals over 1,000 staff based in thirteen countries across five continents.

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