Last checked at 30 Jan 2023 07:00
30 January 2023
Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust PLC
(the "Company")
Continued Progress on Investments
The Board of Aquila Energy Efficiency Trust PLC is pleased to announce an update on the continued progress in the commitment and deployment of capital since the Company's last trading update, published on 20 December 2022.
Investment commitments have increased by £13.4m to £100.7m compared with the position published on 20 December 2022 (£87.3m). This amount exceeds the £98m net proceeds raised at in the Company's initial public offering (the "IPO") and is possible due to cash inflows from existing investments and the timings of cash outflows on existing commitments. The increase in commitments includes £8.6m to four new investments:
· A £3.5m investment in ground mounted solar PV plants for self-consumption for four farms operated by a Spanish agricultural company, headquartered in the South-East of Spain with a capacity of c.4MWp;
· A £2.2m investment to refinance a portfolio of heat pump service and maintenance contracts for the residential sector in Germany;
· A £1.7m commitment to finance Solar PV plant and battery projects developed by a major technology manufacturer and to be deployed at sites of the leading owner and operator of wellness centres in Spain; and
· A £1.2m investment in an additional operational wind farm in the UK, managed by a UK ESCO, adding to the existing portfolio of wind farms, which benefit from feed-in and export tariffs and provide onsite power for self-consumption.
In addition to these new commitments, the Company has negotiated increased commitments of £2.4m to existing Superbonus investments. The balance of the £13.4m increase is a result of a change in the year end Euro: Sterling exchange rate of 1.1295:1 versus the rate of 1.16:1 in the December trading update.
Total income generating deployed capital has also increased to £60.4m (20 December 2022: £54.4m). Given the recent good progress, the Investment Adviser now anticipates deployment at the end of Q1 2023 to exceed the c. 80% of IPO proceeds figure stated in the Trading Update on 20 December 2022.In addition, the Board has approved a further £7.2m of commitments which are awaiting financial close. The Company now has total approved commitments of £107.9m.
The Company continues to expect to achieve an average gross unlevered project yield of 8.0% over all investments made to date.
The Company's next semi-annual NAV, as at 31 December 2022, is expected to be published in February 2023.
Alex Betts, Senior Investment Manager at Aquila Capital, the Company's Investment Adviser, said,
"We are pleased to note the continuing strong progress in deployment activity as the wide network of established origination partnerships across Europe continues to bear fruit. We are delighted to have committed all the capital raised at IPO with substantially full deployment targeted at the end of March 2023. We believe investors in the Company benefit from a highly differentiated portfolio providing exposure to energy efficiency investments across a wide variety of technologies that enable companies to reach their carbon goals in Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, and, which are expected to achieve an unlevered yield of 8% p.a."
For further information please contact:
Aquila Capital (Investment Adviser) Via Buchanan
Buchanan (Financial PR) 020 7466 5000
Charles Ryland, Henry Wilson, George Beale
Peel Hunt (Broker) 020 7418 8900
Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking)
LEI: 213800AJ3TY3OJCQQC53