Fundraising

Greencoat plans £585m equity-raising

The company is looking to issue 500m shares as it seeks to capitalise on the ‘significant pool of assets’ available in the UK wind market.

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London-listed wind investor Greencoat UK Wind has said it will look to raise about £585 million ($775.9 million; €660.1 million) through a series of share issuances over the next 12 months.

The fund will look to issue an additional 500 million shares at a price of 117 pence per share, with the final size of the initial issue set to be announced later this month. The initial offer of the shares will be made on 17 October and the initial placing closes on 19 October.

Greencoat said the proceeds will be used to pay down a debt facility agreement and pursue what it sees as “attractive investment opportunities” in a market where it has accumulated a portfolio of about 617MW since its listing in 2013.

“The programme of capital raises will enable the company to pay down debt and continue to take advantage of the significant pool of assets currently available in the UK wind farm secondary market,” said Tim Ingram, chairman of Greencoat UK Wind. “Having grown the company to the size it is today, we are better placed than ever to capitalise on the strong pipeline of investment opportunities available to us further to enhance returns for our shareholders.”

Greencoat has about £500 million of outstanding debt from its revolving credit facility, a term loan and an additional facility agreement. This follows a series of investments this summer through which it plugged more than £324 million into four assets, including boosting an existing investment in the 350MW Clyde wind farm, as well as acquiring the UK’s first ever offshore wind farm from JPMorgan Asset Management. Added to an earlier deal in March, the fund has spent £364.1 million on new investments this year to date.

Fund manager Greencoat Capital has also expanded into other sectors and geographies this year. Its second solar fund reached a £262 million first close last month, while its Greencoat Renewables unit raised €270 million through an Irish listing in July, targeting Ireland’s onshore wind sector, in addition to assets elsewhere in Europe.