Greencoat UK Wind to acquire stake in wind farm

UKW will acquire a net 38 per cent stake in the wind farm, while pension funds will acquire a net 11 per cent

Greencoat UK Wind PLC is to acquire a 49 per cent stake in the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm from RWE, in partnership with a number of pension funds investing through a fund also managed by Greencoat Capital.

UKW will acquire a net 38 per cent stake in the wind farm for a consideration of GBP500 million (including cash and working capital), while the pension funds will acquire a net 11 per cent for GBP148 million, with the total cash consideration payable to RWE at completion being GBP648 million. RWE will continue to hold the remaining 51 per cent.

Humber Gateway is located 5 miles off the Yorkshire coast and is serviced from Grimsby in Lincolnshire. The 219MW wind farm was commissioned in June 2015 and comprises 73 Vestas 3MW turbines. The wind farm has a 45 per cent load factor and benefits from 2 ROCs per MWh. RWE will continue to provide operation and maintenance and management services to the wind farm. A route-to-market power purchase agreement is in place.

Following completion, expected to be around the middle of December, the Company will have GBP1, 100 million of outstanding debt, equating to 33 per cent of Gross Asset Value.

Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Chairman of UKW, says: We are delighted to announce our investment in Humber Gateway, a high load factor, ROC accredited offshore wind farm. This transaction adds another attractive asset to our portfolio which will stand at 38 wind farm investments, with a generating capacity of 1.2GW.

We are also very pleased to be able to play our part in the wider development of the wind industry, heralded by recent government announcements, and enabling the continued build out of further offshore generating capacity in the UK, Jemmett-Page said.

Laurence Fumagalli of Greencoat Capital says: We are pleased to add this sizeable offshore wind farm investment to our portfolio, which builds on the relationship we have with RWE that dates back to 2013 with the acquisition of Rhyl Flats and Little Cheyne Court, seed assets in the IPO. This will be the third investment we have made this year, and we continue to see an attractive pipeline of acquisition opportunities, both onshore and offshore, as we remain committed to our disciplined investment approach.