NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, TO US PERSONS OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, NEW ZEALAND OR THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR INTO ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF ANY OFFER TO ISSUE OR SELL, OR ANY SOLICITATION OF ANY OFFER TO SUBSCRIBE OR PURCHASE, ANY INVESTMENTS IN ANY JURISDICTION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO CONTAIN INSIDE INFORMATION.

25 May 2023

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc

(the "Company" or "GRID")  

Result of Issue and Total Voting Rights 

Further to the announcements of 18 May 2023, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc is pleased to announce the results of the placing (the "Placing") and the retail offer (the "Retail Offer") (together the "Issue") of new ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares", and the new Ordinary Shares, "New Ordinary Shares").

The Company has raised total gross proceeds of £50 million through the issue of 32,154,341 New Ordinary Shares at a price of 155.5 pence per share. 30,584,387 of these shares will be issued via the Placing and 1,569,954 shares will be issued via the Retail Offer.

Subject to confirmatory due diligence and documentation, the net proceeds of the Issue are intended to fund the first closing of Project Iliad. If successfully completed, Project Iliad will represent the Company's first international transaction comprising 160MW of solar with collocated, four-hour battery energy storage projects in California, USA.

John Leggate CBE, Chair of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc said:

"We really appreciate this positive and broad support from investors, particularly given the current challenging market conditions. The funds raised will give us an opportunity to secure a foothold in the US, one of our most important target markets. The pace of renewable energy growth globally remains strong, underpinned by the demand for cleaner, cheaper and secure energy, net zero commitments and government incentives. The case for investing in grid level battery energy storage remains more compelling than ever. We look forward to reporting further progress this year."

Ben Guest, Fund Manager and Head of Gresham House New Energy, commented:

"The funds raised will kick-start our first US investment, constructing 160MW of solar plus collocated four-hour battery energy storage system projects in California, and we would like to thank all our shareholders for this ongoing support and endorsement. We consider California to be one of the most exciting renewables markets in the United States and the fundraise represents a significant milestone in GRID's progress, as we continue to monetise the opportunities available in an increasingly renewables-driven power market." 

Admission of New Ordinary Shares

Application will be made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange's main market ("Admission"). Admission is expected to become effective, and dealings in the New Ordinary Shares are expected to commence, at 8.00 a.m. (London time) on 30 May 2023.

The New Ordinary Shares, when issued, will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made, or paid after the date of Admission.

Immediately following Admission, the Company will have 573,444,694 Ordinary Shares in issue and therefore the total voting rights in the Company will be 573,444,694. This figure may be used by Shareholders 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 interests in the Company.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the UK version of EU Regulation 596/2014, as it forms part of the laws of England and Wales by virtue of the EUWA and as amended by UK legislation. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Dealing codes

For further information, please contact:

Gresham House New Energy

Ben Guest                                                       +44 (0) 20 3837 6270
Rupert Robinson        

Jefferies International Limited

Stuart Klein                                                      +44 (0) 20 7029 8000
Gaudi Le Roux
Harry Randall 

KL Communications                                      [email protected]
Charles Gorman                                             +44 (0) 20 3995 6673
Charlotte Francis

JTC (UK) Limited as Company Secretary    [email protected]
David Rice                                                      +44 (0)203 846 9774

About the Company and the Manager:

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc seeks to provide investors with an attractive and sustainable dividend over the long term by investing in a diversified portfolio of utility-scale battery energy storage systems (known as BESS) located in Great Britain and in overseas jurisdictions. In addition, the Company seeks to provide investors with the prospect of capital growth through the re-investment of net cash generated in excess of the target dividend in accordance with the Company's investment policy.

The Company targets (i) an unlevered Net Asset Value total return of 8 per cent. per annum; and (ii) a levered Net Asset Value total return of 15 per cent. per annum.

Gresham House Asset Management Limited ("Gresham House" or the "Manager") is the FCA authorised operating business of Gresham House plc, a London Stock Exchange quoted specialist alternative asset manager. Gresham House is committed to operating responsibly and sustainably, taking the long view in delivering sustainable investment solutions. Gresham House's website is at: www.greshamhouse.com

Definition of utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS)

Utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are the enabling infrastructure that will support the continued growth of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, essential to the UK's stated target to reduce carbon emissions. They store excess energy generated by renewable energy sources and then release that stored energy back into the grid during peak hours when there is increased demand. BESS also provide Frequency Response services to National Grid whereby batteries import and export power with the aim to keep real-time supply and demand in near-perfect balance while also protecting against unexpected outages of major power plants.

DISCLAIMERS

This announcement has been prepared for information purposes only.

This announcement is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy New Ordinary Shares in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Republic of South Africa, Japan, or any Member State of the European Economic Area, or any of their respective territories or possessions, or in any other jurisdiction where such offer or sale would be unlawful. No action has been taken by the Company or Jefferies that would permit an offering of any shares in the capital of the Company or possession or distribution of this announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such shares in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required by the Company and Jefferies to inform themselves about, and to observe, such restrictions.

This communication is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America. This communication is not an offer of securities for sale into the United States. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred or delivered directly or indirectly in the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. Persons, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. No public offering of securities is being made in the United States.

The Company has not been and will not be registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Investment Company Act") and, as such, holders of the Ordinary Shares will not be entitled to the benefits of the Investment Company Act. No offer, sale, resale, pledge, delivery, distribution, or transfer of the Ordinary Shares may be made except under circumstances that will not result in the Company being required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. 

The merits or suitability of any securities must be independently determined by the recipient on the basis of its own investigation and evaluation of the Company. Any such determination should involve, among other things, an assessment of the legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, financial, credit and other related aspects of the securities.

This announcement may not be used in making any investment decision in isolation. This announcement on its own does not contain sufficient information to support an investment decision and investors should ensure that they obtain all available relevant information before making any investment. This announcement does not constitute or form part of and may not be construed as an offer to sell, or an invitation to purchase or otherwise acquire, investments of any description, nor as a recommendation regarding the possible offering or the provision of investment advice by any party. No information in this announcement should be construed as providing financial, investment or other professional advice and each prospective investor should consult its own legal, business, tax, and other advisers in evaluating the investment opportunity. No reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on this announcement or its completeness.

The information and opinions contained in this announcement are provided as at the date of the announcement and are subject to change without notice and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein and no responsibility, obligation or liability or duty (whether direct or indirect, in contract, tort or otherwise) is or will be accepted by the Company, the Manager, Jefferies or any of their affiliates or by any of their respective officers, employees or agents to update or revise publicly any of the statements contained herein. No reliance may be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information or opinions contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy, or fairness. The document has not been approved by any competent regulatory or supervisory authority.

Potential investors should be aware that any investment in Company is speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and could result in the loss of all or substantially all of their investment. Results can be positively or negatively affected by market conditions beyond the control of the Company or any other person. Any data on past performance contained herein is no indication as to future performance and there can be no assurance that any targeted or projected returns will be achieved or that the Company will be able to implement its investment strategy or achieve its investment objectives. Any target returns published by the Company are targets only. There is no guarantee that any such returns can be achieved or can be continued if achieved, nor that the Company will make any distributions whatsoever. There may be other additional risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause the returns generated by the Company to be materially lower than the target returns of the Company.

The information in this announcement may include forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations, intentions and projections about future events and trends or other matters that are not historical facts and in certain cases can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target", "believe" (or the negatives thereof) or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, as well as those included in any related materials, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions about the Company and other factors, including, among other things, the development of its business, trends in its operating industry, and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. 

Jefferies International Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting only for the Company in connection with the matters described in this announcement and is not acting for or advising any other person, or treating any other person as its client, in relation thereto and will not be responsible for providing the regulatory protection afforded to clients of Jefferies or advice to any other person in relation to the matters contained herein. Neither Jefferies nor any of its directors, officers, employees, advisers, or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for this announcement, its contents or otherwise in connection with it or any other information relating to the Company, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic format.

Each of the Company, the Manager, Jefferies and their affiliates and their respective officers, employees and agents expressly disclaim any and all liability which may be based on this announcement and any errors therein or omissions therefrom.

No representation or warranty is given to the achievement or reasonableness of future projections, management targets, estimates, prospects or returns, if any. Any views contained herein are based on financial, economic, market and other conditions prevailing as at the date of this announcement. The information contained in this announcement will not be updated.