Last checked at 25 Jan 2023 07:00
Corcel PLC
("Corcel" or the "Company")
Sale of Burwell Energy Storage Project and Corporate Debt Update
25 January 2023
Corcel Plc (London AIM: CRCL), the natural resource exploration and development company, with interests in battery metals, announces that it has completed the sale of a 100% interest in the Burwell Energy Storage project outside of Cambridge to Burwell AL Ltd. It also provides an update on its outstanding debt balance following a period of substantial de-leveraging.
Sale of Burwell Project
The Company has closed the sale of the Burwell project for cash proceeds of £200,000, plus a reimbursement of Corcel's grid deposit of £50,000. This sale formally completes the closure of the Flexible Grid Solutions division.
As at 30 June 2022, the Burwell project was held in the Company's accounts balance sheet at nil and losses in the subsidiary containing the project for the most recent financial year were £35.2k.
Scott Kaintz, CEO of Corcel commented:
"The sale of the Burwell energy storage project amidst ongoing timing uncertainties and potentially substantial additional upgrade costs at the local substation, completes the closure of the Flexible Grid Solutions business, which has been unwound at a small profit.
Meanwhile, the Company's substantial deleveraging activities continue apace with the goal to reduce borrowings to an appropriate level and to provide an adequate operational runway to the business."
Corporate Debt Update
Following completion of the sale of the Burwell project, Corcel intends to utilize a portion of the proceeds to retire the remaining balance of the portion of its corporate debt, most recently restructured and announced on 31 October 2022. Recent asset sales since November 2022, including the Burwell transaction, will then have reduced total outstanding debt by a total of £777,600 and have completely repaid the debt originally due October 2022.
Following these payments, the outstanding balance of the Company's corporate debt is £672,941 (consisting of £619,198 of principal and £53,743 of accrued interest) which was last refinanced on 14 December 2021 with the initial payment of £156,943 due 23 January 2023 and smaller monthly payments due through to June 2023.
The remaining proceeds of the sale of the Burwell project will be used for working capital.
The Company is in constructive discussions with its remaining lenders to refinance these obligations regarding a reprofile and extension of the outstanding amount.
The Company will continue to update the markets on the status of these debt negotiations in due course.
For further information, please contact:
Scott Kaintz 020 7747 9960 Corcel Plc CEO
James Joyce / Andrew de Andrade 0207 220 1666 WH Ireland Ltd NOMAD & Broker
Simon Woods 0207 3900 230 Vigo Communications IR
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.