14 December 2018
GREENCOAT UK WIND PLC
Acquisition of Church Hill and Crighshane wind farms
Increase in Greencoat UK Wind's net generating capacity to 836MW (excluding Tom nan Clach)
Greencoat UK Wind PLC ("UKW") is pleased to announce that it has acquired Church Hill and Crighshane wind farms from the Irish Infrastructure Fund, a fund jointly managed by AMP Capital and Irish Life Investment Managers, and from the Viridian Group, who held a minority stake, for a total consideration of £87 million, including the prepayment of existing project finance debt facilities.
Church Hill is located 16 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and has a capacity of 18.4MW. Crighshane is located 20 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone and has a capacity of 32.2MW. Both wind farms are equipped with Enercon E70 turbines and have been operational since July 2012 (accredited to receive 1 ROC per MWh).
Tim Ingram, Chairman of UKW, commented: "We are very pleased with our latest acquisitions - high quality ROC accredited wind farms with a strong operating track record, which will deliver an attractive investment return to our investors. The portfolio as a whole now provides sufficient electricity to power over 750,000 homes."
The acquisition was funded by UKW's revolving credit facility (£80 million) plus reinvestment of group cash (£7 million). Following the acquisition, UKW's total borrowings amount to £480 million (£400 million term debt plus £80 million under the revolving credit facility), equivalent to 27% of Gross Asset Value (gearing limit 40%).
For further information, please contact:
Greencoat UK Wind PLC 020 7832 9400
Stephen Lilley
Laurence Fumagalli
Tom Rayner
Headland Consultancy 020 3805 4822
Stephen Malthouse
Rob Walker
Charlie Twigg
Notes to Editors:
Greencoat UK Wind PLC is the leading listed renewable infrastructure fund, invested in 32 operating UK wind farms with net generating capacity of 836MW (excluding Tom nan Clach). The Company's aim is to provide investors with an annual dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation (6.76p for 2018) while preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio in the long term on a real basis through reinvestment of excess cash flow and the prudent use of gearing.
UKW is managed by an experienced team at Greencoat Capital LLP, a leading European renewable investment manager with over £3 billion of assets under management across a number of funds in wind and solar infrastructure, and is overseen by a strong and experienced independent board.
UKW is incorporated in England and Wales and is a UK Investment Trust.
For more information about UKW, please visit http://www.greencoat-ukwind.com.
For more information about Greencoat Capital LLP, please visit http://www.greencoat-capital.com.
