Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has announced that it has acquired two windfarms, Church Hill and Crighshane, from the Irish Infrastructure Fund and from the Viridian Group (the Viridian Group held a minority stake), for a total consideration of £87 million, including the prepayment of existing project finance debt facilities. The acquisition has been funded by UKW’s revolving credit facility (£80 million) plus reinvestment of group cash (£7 million).
Following the acquisition, UKW says that its total borrowings amount to £480 million (£400 million term debt plus £80 million under the revolving credit facility), which is equivalent to 27% of Gross Asset Value (and is therefore below its gearing limit of 40%).
Commenting on these purchases, Tim Ingram, Chairman of Greencoat UK Wind says, “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.”
Church Hill Wind Farm
Church Hill Wind Farm is located 16 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and has a capacity of 18.4MW. Church Hill is equipped with Enercon E70 turbines and has been operational since July 2012. It is accredited to receive 1 ROC per MWh.
Crighshane Wind Farm
Crighshane Wind Farm is located 20 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone and has a capacity of 32.2MW. Like Church Hill, Crighshane is also equipped with Enercon E70 turbines and has been operational since July 2012. It is also accredited to receive 1 ROC per MWh.
About Greencoat UK Wind
Greencoat UK Wind Plc has been listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange since 27 March 2013 (it has a premium main market listing). The company invests in operating UK wind farms to provide shareholders with a sustainable and transparent income stream through an annual dividend payment. Given the nature of the Company’s income streams, the company’s Board intends to increase the dividend in line with Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation. The company also aims to preserve capital on a real basis by reinvesting excess cashflow in additional operating UK wind farms and through prudent use of portfolio leverage. Greencoat UK Wind invests in wind farm projects predominantly with a capacity of over 10 MW. The substantial majority of the portfolio will be operating UK wind farm projects.