Acquisition of two onshore wind farms in France

RNS Number : 2452Q

Renewables Infrastructure Grp (The)

05 June 2018

 

5 June 2018

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited

"TRIG" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries "the Group", a London-listed investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners as Investment Manager and RES (Renewable Energy Systems) as Operations Manager.

Acquisition of two onshore wind farms in France

The Board of TRIG is pleased to announce that it has acquired two onshore wind farms in Northern France, Rosieres and Montigny (the "Projects") located in Meuse and Aisne. The assets are currently under construction and expected to become operational in Q4 2018 when they will have a combined operating capacity of 31.8MW. Once the projects are operational, TRIG will have 140MW of generation capacity in France, which is 15% of the existing portfolio by capacity.

The Projects will benefit from the attractive French subsidy arrangements underpinning contracted index linked revenues per MWh generated.

Rosieres comprises eight 2.2MW Vestas turbines which benefit from the 2016 Contract for Difference ("CfD") subsidy of 15 years. Montigny comprises six 2.0MW Vestas turbines, with the 2015 Feed in Tariff ("FiT") subsidy of 15 years, and one 2.2MW Vestas turbine, with the 2017 CfD subsidy of 20 years.

The Projects were acquired from TRIG's Operations Manager, RES, pursuant to TRIG's right of first offer agreement. The total consideration for the Projects is expected to be c.€28 million, including construction costs and net of project level debt financing. TRIG's investment was funded from the Group's revolving acquisition facility, following which stands at £113 million drawn.

Following these acquisitions, 6% of TRIG's portfolio value is in assets under construction, measured on a fully invested basis. TRIG continues to manage its currency exposure to non-sterling assets by hedging approximately 50% of the valuation of such assets.

Richard Crawford, Director, Infrastructure at InfraRed Capital Partners, said:

"We are very pleased to have secured these two wind farms in France which further add to the geographical diversification of the portfolio. The Projects benefit from long-term, inflation-linked tariffs in the form of French FiTs and CfDs which guarantee the price to be paid for the power generated. Furthermore, the wind farms are being constructed by RES and will benefit from their extensive construction expertise for the short period leading up to their commissioning at the end of 2018."

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Enquiries

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited                              [phone]
Richard Crawford
Phil George

Tulchan Communications                                           [phone]
Martin Pengelley
Latika Shah

Notes

The Company

The Renewables Infrastructure Group ("TRIG" or the "Company") is a leading London-listed renewable energy infrastructure investment company. The Company seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive long-term, income-based return with a positive correlation to inflation by focusing on strong cash generation across a diversified portfolio of predominantly operating projects. TRIG is targeting an aggregate dividend of 6.50 pence per Ordinary Share for the year to 31 December 2018.

TRIG is invested in a portfolio of 60 renewables projects (including onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and power storage projects) in the UK and Northern Ireland, France and the Republic of Ireland, with aggregate net output capacity of 908 MW following completion of its assets under construction. 

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") which has successfully invested in over 200 infrastructure projects since 1997. InfraRed is a leading international investment manager focused on infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from offices in London, Hong Kong, New York, Seoul and Sydney. With over 130 professionals it manages in excess of USD10 billion of equity capital in multiple private and listed funds, primarily for institutional investors across the globe. InfraRed is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The infrastructure investment team at InfraRed consists of 70 investment professionals, all with an infrastructure investment background and a broad range of relevant skills, including private equity, structured finance, construction, renewable energy and facilities management.

InfraRed implements best-in-class practices to underpin asset management and investment decisions, promotes ethical behaviour and has established community engagement initiatives to support good causes in the wider community. InfraRed is a long-standing signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment under which InfraRed is rated A+, the highest level, for both infrastructure and real estate, as well as for overall strategy and governance.

Further details can be found on InfraRed's website at www.ircp.com.

Operations Manager

TRIG's Operations Manager is RES (Renewable Energy Systems Limited), the world's largest independent renewable energy company.

RES has been at the forefront of wind energy development for 35 years, with the expertise to develop, engineer, construct, finance, and operate projects around the globe. RES has developed or constructed more than 250 wind, solar, energy storage and transmission projects totalling more than 12GW in capacity. Headquartered in Hertfordshire, UK, RES operates in 10 countries and has over 1,900 employees engaged in renewables globally.

Further details can be found on RES' website at www.res-group.com.

 

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