Acquisition of two UK solar parks

RNS Number : 4050U

Renewables Infrastructure Grp (The)

02 December 2013

 



2 December 2013

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited

("TRIG" or the "Company" and together with the holding company subsidiaries, the "Group")

Acquisition of two UK solar parks

·    Expansion of the TRIG portfolio with the addition of solar photovoltaic parks in Somerset and the Isle of Wight for £21 million

·    The acquisitions reinforce the benefits of diversification, with solar now representing six out of 20 assets in the TRIG portfolio, furthering the growth strategy stated at IPO to acquire additional investments across target geographies and renewable energy technologies

·    Transaction has been funded from proceeds of the equity tap issue that took place on 21 November 2013 and from the Company's existing cash resources

Richard Crawford, Director, InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, TRIG's Investment Manager, said: "The team is delighted to announce these additions, which further enhance the diversification of the TRIG portfolio in line with the investment objectives of providing investors with long-term, stable dividends and preserving capital value. We see a good pipeline of available assets in both solar PV and onshore wind in the UK and across Northern Europe, enabling further build-out of TRIG's portfolio in due course."

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The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited is pleased to announce that the Group has acquired 100% interests in two large-scale ground-mounted solar photovoltaic generating plants, both on agricultural sites in the South of England, for a total investment consideration of approximately £21 million including the cost of a new extension to one of the plants. These solar parks have been acquired without project debt. The expected electricity production of the two assets combined is enough to cover the annual power consumption of approximately 3,700 UK households and avoid the emission of 12,000 tons of CO2 each year.

The first plant, the Parsonage Solar Park, is located near Ilminster in Somerset and is fully operational with generating capacity of 7MW. The plant has been acquired from a private construction capital fund managed by Adiant Capital Partners. Installation of the project was completed by Goldbeck Construction Limited, part of the Goldbeck contracting group based in Germany. The site was commissioned in July 2013, qualifying under the UK's support banding of 1.6 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) per MWh, and has a 3-year off-take agreement with GDF Suez Energy UK.

The second of these plants, the Marvel Farms Solar Park, is located on the Isle of Wight near Newport and has been acquired from a group of local private developers. With total generating capacity of 5MW, the project is comprised of two sections, an established operational site commissioned in 2011 and an extension to the site which is expected to be completed and commissioned over the coming weeks.  Construction of the extension is being undertaken by Lark Energy, an experienced contractor in the UK solar market. The extension will benefit from a new 20-year feed-in tariff while the existing operational section has 23 years remaining on its original feed-in tariff at the considerably higher rate per MWh applicable to plants commissioned in 2011. The operational plant has a 3-year off-take agreement with SSE Energy Supply (part of SSE Group).  In addition, TRIG has secured an option to extend the initial 25 year site lease to a total of 40 years.

Ends

Enquiries

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited                              [phone]

Richard Crawford

Matt Dimond

Tulchan Communications                                           [phone]

Martha Walsh

Victoria Huxster

Aaron Clark

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                         [phone]

Andrew Zychowski

Lucy Lewis

Jefferies International Limited                                    [phone]

Gary Gould

Stuart Klein

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited

The Company has a strategy to invest in predominantly operational renewable energy infrastructure projects and is seeking to provide investors with long-term, stable dividends, whilst preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio through investment, principally in a range of operational assets which generate electricity from renewable sources, with a particular focus on onshore wind farms and solar photovoltaic parks. The Company is targeting an initial annualised dividend of 6 pence per Ordinary Share and aims to increase this dividend progressively in line with inflation over the medium term.

TRIG currently owns a portfolio of 20 wholly-owned assets in the UK, France and the Republic of Ireland, including the two acquisitions announced today. Six of the assets are solar PV parks and 14 of the assets are onshore wind farms. The Group is seeking further suitable investment opportunities which fit its stated Investment Policy.

Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.trig-ltd.com.

Investment Manager

The Investment Manager of the Group is InfraRed Capital Partners Limited ("InfraRed").

InfraRed is an independent investment business, managing a range of infrastructure and real estate funds and investments. The InfraRed group has a strong record of delivering attractive returns for its investors, with total equity under management of more than US$ 6 billion.   

InfraRed currently has staff of around 100 employees and partners, based mainly in offices in London and with smaller offices in Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong and New York.

Since 1998, the InfraRed Group (including predecessor organisations) has raised thirteen private institutional investment funds investing in infrastructure and real estate, in addition to TRIG and HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, a leading  infrastructure fund launched in 2006 and also listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The infrastructure investment team within the InfraRed Group currently consists of over 45 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.

The InfraRed Group has a long and successful proven track record in sourcing, structuring, acquiring, managing and financing infrastructure equity investments. It has been responsible for over 150 infrastructure equity investments for the InfraRed Group (including predecessor organisations) and its funds to date.

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited 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 120 individual wind farms and PV parks around the world with a combined capacity of over 7,500 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' global headcount totals over 1,000 staff based in thirteen countries across five continents.

 

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