Portfolio Update - HH2E Administration
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited
("FGEN" or the "Company")
Portfolio Update - HH2E Administration
FGEN made an initial investment into the green hydrogen sector in January 2023 and has since been working with management at its partner, HH2E AG ("HH2E"), to progress the development of several green hydrogen production sites across Germany.
The Company has invested a total of €22.3 million into HH2E (£19.3 million) representing 2.6% of net asset value as at 30 June 2024. The investment into HH2E to date has principally been used to secure orders for long lead time equipment and develop HH2E's first two green hydrogen sites at Lubmin and Thierbach, which are now both at a stage of requiring further capital to fund construction in line with the development consortium's original business plan.
HH2E has recently undertaken a process to source additional third-party funding for ongoing development of the pipeline and construction of Lubmin, the most progressed of the sites. However, due to the nascency of the green hydrogen sector and challenging current global funding environment, the process has not led to a financing partner being secured within the required timeframe and at the required scale, and there is now material uncertainty over whether adequate funding will be achieved.
FGEN, along with its investment manager, Foresight Group (the "Investment Manager"), has given consideration to providing further funding to HH2E to allow it to continue to meet its commitments and requirements under German law. However, the Board does not believe that it is appropriate to do so at this time, reflecting the Company's approach to portfolio construction, risk and capital allocation in the context of the current market environment.
Therefore, without the guarantee of third-party funding and as required by German insolvency law, HH2E management are expected to take the decision to file a petition for insolvency and enter administration. The Board and the Investment Manager are disappointed by this development, particularly given the potential for green hydrogen to play an important role in decarbonising heavy transport, industry, and other hard-to-abate sectors of the economy and the opportunity that remains at Lubmin and Thierbach.
HH2E's administration process will focus on an outcome in the interests of all creditors. FGEN is an indirect creditor via its shareholding in Foresight Hydrogen HoldCo GmbH, which has provided shareholder loans to HH2E. Under German insolvency law, shareholder loans are subordinated to other creditors and as such it is expected that there will be no recovery of the invested amount.
The outcome of the administration process is not yet known, but the Company will update the market at the appropriate time.
The investment in HH2E is the only development-stage investment in the FGEN portfolio. FGEN's dividend target for FY 2024/25 is 7.80p per share and the Board reassert that target with expected dividend cover in the range 1.2-1.3x. The Company will publish its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2024, on Thursday 21 November 2024.
This announcement contains information that is inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
For further information please contact:
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Foresight Group Chris Tanner Edward Mountney Wilna de Villiers |
+44(0)20 3667 8100
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Winterflood Securities Limited Neil Langford
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+44(0)20 3100 0000
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SEC Newgate Elisabeth Cowell Alice Cho Harry Handyside
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+44 (0)20 3757 6882 FGEN@secnewgate.co.uk
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Apex Fund and Corporate Services (Guernsey) Limited Matt Lihou Matt Falla
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+44(0)20 3530 3600 FGEN@apexgroup.com |
About FGEN
FGEN's investment policy is to invest in a diversified portfolio of Environmental Infrastructure. Environmental Infrastructure is defined by the Company as infrastructure assets, projects and asset-backed businesses that utilise natural or waste resources or support more environmentally friendly approaches to economic activity, support the transition to a low carbon economy or which mitigate the effects of climate change. Such investments will typically feature one or more of the following characteristics:
· long-term, predictable cash flows, which may be wholly or partially inflation-linked cash flows;
· long-term contracts or stable and well-proven regulatory and legal frameworks; or
· well-established technologies, and demonstrable operational performance.
FGEN's aim is to provide investors with a sustainable, progressive dividend per share, paid quarterly and to preserve the capital value of the portfolio over the long term on a real basis. The target dividend for the year to 31 March 2025 is 7.80 pence per share1.
FGEN is an Article 9 fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and has a transparent and award winning approach to ESG.
Further details can be found on FGEN's website www.fgen.com and LinkedIn page.
LEI: 213800JWJN54TFBMBI68
(1) These 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.
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