SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust Plc (SEEIT) has announced that its IPO has raised gross proceeds of £100m (through the issue of 100m shares at £1 per share). The company says that it expects that its shares, which are to be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main market, will start trading on Tuesday 11 December 2018.
Target total return of 7% to 8% per annum
SDCL’s investment business is focused on clean energy and energy efficiency project finance. The funds invest in energy efficiency retrofit projects and seek a return based on savings achieved. This generates ongoing operational cost savings and carbon emission reductions as well as improvements to productivity and asset values, in compliance with current and prospective building regulations. SEEIT will target a total return of between 7% and 8% per annum and its initial dividend yield target will be 5.0%, rising to 5.5% in March 2021.
Chaired by former HICL Infrastructure fund manager, Tony Roper
Tony Roper, former fund manager of HICL Infrastructure (HICL), is SEEIT’s chairman. Commenting on the IPO, Tony says, “We are very pleased with the response from a broad range of high quality investors to our initial public offering, despite challenging market conditions,” said SEEIT Chairman Tony Roper.
“We launch with a strong portfolio and pipeline of energy efficiency projects, which are well suited to SEEIT’s investment objectives and strategy. We would like to thank all our shareholders for their support in the successful IPO,”
Managed by Sustainable Development Capital
SEEIT’s portfolio is to be managed by Sustainable Development Capital. Sustainable Development Capital is an investment boutique that runs a number of clean energy and efficiency funds for institutional investors in the UK, US, Asia and Europe.
Jonathan Maxwell, one of SDC’s co-founders, says that the energy efficiency market has been driven by constrained energy supply, the opportunity to save costs, and the introduction of emission reduction targets. He says that energy efficiency is to a large extent unencumbered by the regulatory constraints and political concerns associated with other infrastructure segments.
Maxwell says that ‘SEEIT will seek to capitalise on SDC’s specialist knowledge of the energy efficiency market, strong relationships and local insight to invest in a high-quality portfolio of energy efficiency investments’.
More information can be found at the trust’s website: www.sdcl-ib.com/energy-efficiency-investments/