Fundraising

JLEN float raises £160m

The funds will be used to acquire seven projects from parent group John Laing, which subscribed for 39.7% of the environmental fund.

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John Laing Environmental Assets Group has raised gross proceeds of £160 million (€197 million; $264 million) on the London Stock Exchange.

London-based developer John Laing announced the launch of JLEN last month, with a focus on operational UK assets in the renewable energy and waste management sectors. The vehicle’s target was £160 million, with the option to increase the size of the issue to around £174 million.

John Laing Investment Limited, the firm’s investment arm, will hold 39.7 percent of JLEN’s equity following admission. The group had originally intended to only subscribe for up to 29.9 percent of the fund.

The proceeds of the issue will be used to acquire a seed portfolio of seven assets. These include one solar project (Amber Solar), three onshore wind farms (Bilsthorpe Wind, Castle Pill & Ferndale Wind and Hall Farm Wind), two waste processing projects (D&G Waste and ELWA Waste) and one wastewater treatment project (Tay Wastewater).

The onshore wind projects have a total generating capacity of 44 megawatts (MW), while both solar plants have a combined capacity of 25MW.

JLEN’s float follows the launch of John Laing Investment Fund in November 2010, which was primarily aimed at acquiring social infrastructure assets. JLEN will have right of first offer on about £185 million worth of John Laing environmental assets within the next three years, it told potential investors last month.