Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, London’s first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power, has acquired a portfolio of 81MW UK operating, cash-generating energy storage assets. The acquisition has resulted in the Company’s operating portfolio increasing by almost four-fold from 29MW to 110MW, with total storage assets increasing to 320MW.
Details of the acquisition
The acquisition portfolio has been acquired for a total of £ 28.2m[1] with a combination of cash and the issue of new ordinary shares of Gore Street. £21.1m has been paid in cash and £7.1m through the issue of new ordinary shares at 106.0 pence per share, which is the 30-day volume weighted average share price (VWAP) as at 27 October 2020.
Of the new ordinary shares issued in consideration for the Acquisition, 60% will be subject to a lock-up for 12 months followed by an orderly market arrangement lasting a further 12 months. The remaining 40% will be subject to an orderly market arrangement for 6 months.
This Acquisition follows from the Company’s announcement on 29 June 2020 which disclosed that the Company was in exclusive negotiations for this portfolio. The portfolio is anticipated to deliver returns consistent with Gore Street’s targets.
Acquired portfolio overview
The portfolio comprises 81MW of operating energy storage assets in 5 projects with 14 underlying storage facilities:
| Companies | Lascar | Hulley | Larport | Ancala | Breach |
| Location | Greater Manchester | Cheshire | Derbyshire | Various* | Derbyshire |
| Capacity | 20.0 MW | 20.0 MW | 19.5 MW | 11.2 MW | 10.0 MW |
| *Ancala is comprised of 10 separate sites of 1.0 – 1.2MW, each co-located with solar PV projects across the UK and totalling 11.2MW installed capacity | |||||
The battery energy storage systems at all sites were provided by BYD, a leading global storage supplier, increasing the Company’s supplier and technical diversification. Anesco, the vendor and the EPC provider, is a leading renewable infrastructure developer which is responsible for more than 145MW of operating UK energy storage projects. Anesco will continue to provide asset management services for the 81MW portfolio and is engaged with the Company on terms to subsequently provide a full revenue optimisation service. Anesco provides full lifecycle services for solar and storage and continues to develop, design, construct, operate and maintain high performing grid scale solutions. Anesco will continue to manage the acquired projects.
Admission of new ordinary shares
Applications will be made to the FCA for the 6,695,501 new ordinary shares issued pursuant to the Acquisition to be admitted to the Premium Segment of the Official List and to the London Stock Exchange for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on its main market for listed securities. Admission is expected to become effective, and dealings in the new Ordinary Shares are expected to commence, at 8.00 a.m. on 4 November 2020. Following admission, the new Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares.
On admission, the Company’s issued share capital will comprise 83,871,681 ordinary shares, none of which will be held in treasury. Each ordinary share carries the right to one vote and, therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company on Admission will be 83,871,681. This figure may be used by Shareholders and other investors as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Alex O’Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital, the Company’s investment manager, commented: “This is a significant acquisition which substantially increases our operating, cash generating assets and further diversifies our substantial and growing portfolio. The acquisition highlights Gore Street Capital’s continued delivery against the Company’s goals and affirms our preeminent position in the energy storage market. As many countries look to support the transition to a low carbon economy, we believe we are in a strong position to facilitate that transition. With this major operational portfolio acquisition the Company’s portfolio grows to 320MW – one of the largest available to a financial investor seeking exposure to this sector.
We are very pleased to win this competitive acquisition due to our strong transactional history and leading portfolio management reputation. We are also very pleased to partner with Anesco on this portfolio and look forward to further building on that relationship. These cash-generating projects further reinforce the Company’s dividend cover and materially enhance Company earnings”.