Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust (AEET) has agreed to realise its Bio-LNG investment in Germany and the majority of its Italian Superbonus investments for a combined gross consideration of €31.84m. AEET’s board says that it will make a significant distribution to shareholders following receipt of these realisations and that a further announcement will be made in due course as to the structure of the payment and the amount.

The Bio-LNG investment in Germany was made in two tranches – in November 2022 and April 2024 -to facilitate the acquisition of an existing biogas plant and its conversion into a Bio-LNG plant at a total cost of €9.29m. The plant, which had a book value as at 30 June 2024 of €9.73m and generated cash receipts to the company of €1.75m in the period from 30 June 2024 before the realisation amount of €8.52m, produced a gross rate of return of 8.9%per annum. over the life of the investment. This was above AEET’s expected return of 8.4% for this asset at the time the initial investment was made in November 2022.

The Superbonus investments were projects managed by the Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) Enerstreet and Enerqos Energy Solutions, which had a book value, net of expected credit loss provisions, as at 30 June 2024 of €24.13m. CORD says that these investments generated cash receipts of €2.0m in the period from 30 June 2024 before the realisation amount of €23.32m, which the company expects to receive in the coming weeks. It adds that the realisation amount, which is being funded by the ESCOs themselves and not from funds received from the sale of the tax credits produced by the Superbonus projects, represents the recovery of all of the capital invested in these projects plus some late payment interest. These Superbonus investments are expected to produce a gross internal rate of return of 9.4% p.a. over the lives of these investments, which would be above expectations of 8.0% at the time the initial investments were made in December 2021.