In QuotedData’s morning briefing 19 October 2021:
- Augmentum Fintech (AUGM) is making a £10m investment into Zopa as part of that company’s latest funding round of £220m. The funding round is being led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 with participation from Chimera Abu Dhabi, and is conditional on regulatory approval. Augmentum is investing alongside other existing investors IAG Silverstripe, Northzone, and Davidson Kempner Capital Management. Zopa (www.zopa.com) was founded in 2005 as the UK’s first peer-to-peer lending company. In 2020 Zopa was awarded a UK banking licence, and is now regulated by both the PRA and the FCA, allowing it to offer a wider product range, including fixed term savings backed by FSCS protection, and a credit card. The funding will be used to meet the capital requirements of Zopa bank’s rapidly growing balance sheet.
- Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure (RNEW) says that its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, RNEW Capital, LLC, has entered into a $65m secured revolving credit facility (RCF) with KeyBank, one of the premier lenders to the U.S. renewable energy industry. The RCF comprises a $50m, two year facility priced at LIBOR plus 1.75% and a $15m, three year facility priced at LIBOR plus 2.00%. The RCF also includes an accordion option which provides access to an additional $20m of capital which can be accessed subject to certain conditions.
- Separately, Ecofin US Renewables has declared a dividend of 0.8 cents per share (making 1.8 cents since launch, on track to meet the target in its prospectus) and published a new NAV of $1.0067, up 2.2% over the quarter ended 30 September 2021. The main factors behind this were were a decrease in the discount rates applied to the Beacon Solar 2 and 5 utility scale operating assets to bring them in line with market rates, and a reduction to solar panel degradation rates to conform to estimates consistently used by the company’s independent engineer.
- The Competition and Markets Authority has announced that it is looking into the proposed takeover of GCP Student Living (DIGS). It says that it will make a decision by 13 December 2021.
- Greencoat Renewables (GRP) has raised €165m in an oversubscribed placing. 148,648,649 shares will be issued at €1.11 per share. €115m of the money will be used to pay down the revolving credit facility in the first instance, but the company has a substantial pipeline of assets across Europe. Shareholders still need to approve the issue in a meeting planned for 28 October.
- Supermarket Income REIT (SUPR) has increased the target size of its proposed equity raise from £100m up to a maximum of £200m due to high investor demand. The results of the Initial Issue are expected to be announced on 20 October 2021.
We also have a couple of potential new company launches – Alinda Capital Infrastructure Investments and Life Science REIT. Plus Gresham House has issued a statement about its requisition of a meeting for Gresham House Strategic.