Deals

BIG and Hancock partner for 10MW waste investment

The deal is the second time the pair have teamed up as BIG seeks to double its 115MW portfolio. The project has been bought from the Green Investment Group as the last transaction following BIG's acquisition of 20 assets from the revamped Green Investment Bank.

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UK-based Bioenergy Infrastructure Group and Manulife subsidiary Hancock Renewable Energy Group have joined forces to invest in a 10MW waste to energy facility in the UK.

The Hoddesdon advanced conversion technology facility has been bought by the duo following the completion of construction earlier this year. It is the largest biomass installation in the country using refuse-derived fuel.

The project has been bought from the Green Investment Group as the last transaction following BIG’s acquisition of 20 assets from the revamped Green Investment Bank. The group committed £60 million ($79.1 million; €66.7 million) towards the site in 2015 as part of an investment trio also comprising Israeli infrastructure investor Noy Fund and biomass specialist P3P. The GIB provided £30 million, with Noy investing £20 million and the remainder committed by P3P. It is understood that BIG and Hancock will each have a 25 percent stake in the project, while AssetGen, NOY and P3P remain 50 percent shareholders.

The acquisition is part of BIG’s aim to double its 115MW portfolio over the coming years, with shareholders Infracapital, Helios Energy Investments, Aurium and Foresight Group understood to be ploughing an additional £200 million into the platform on top of their original 2015investment.

The Hoddesdon acquisition is the second time BIG and Hancock have invested alongside each other. They bought into a £200 million, 25MW energy-from-waste site in the UK in 2015, with Noy Fund again included among the shareholders. Hancock owns another project in the UK in addition to its bioenergy investments in the US, while also targeting similar projects in Australia and Europe.

“We are pleased to be investing alongside the Hancock Renewable Energy Group in this transaction, providing another example of how institutional co-investment is channelling further capital into this important sector,” said Hamish McPherson, chief executive of BIG.