JLEN.L Regulatory News (JLEN)

1 August 2022

JLEN Environmental Assets Group Limited

("JLEN" or the "Company")

Investment in a controlled environment aquaculture project

JLEN, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, is pleased to announce that it has reached financial close on a minority equity investment in a controlled environment aquaculture project. 

The equity investment will be made alongside other Foresight funds, as well as the developer and operator of the facility, Hima Seafood AS. JLEN's total investment is expected to be up to approximately £40m over the next three to four years.

The project consists of a land-based aquaculture facility to be built in Rjukan, Norway, and will use established recirculating aquaculture system ("RAS") technology. It is expected that partial operations will commence in 2024 with full operations expected in 2025, following which, the facility is forecasted to produce approximately 8,000 tonnes of trout annually. This will be sold to European and international salmonid markets via an offtake agreement with an established Norwegian seafood distribution company with global reach.

Driven by a growing global population and an expanding middle class, the world faces an increasing demand for quality protein amid limited resources of usable land and water. Recent data shows that 34.8%1 of global animal protein production comes from fish and seafood sources and the fish and seafood market grew between 4% - 8% annually in the ten-year period to 20191. 

Global demand for animal protein is projected to double by 20502. Fish, including salmonids such as salmon and trout, is considered one of the most efficient sources of high-quality animal protein due to the rate at which it converts feed into edible mass, its high protein retention and high rate of edible meat per kilogram, as well as various nutritional benefits. Land-based aquaculture, such as the RAS based facility to be built in Rjukan, can provide a range of benefits compared with alternative methods of aquaculture such as improved fish mortality rates, less local environmental degradation and a lower use of antibiotics and other chemicals to control disease and parasites.

Richard Ramsay, Senior Independent Director of JLEN, said:

"We are pleased to make our first investment into land-based aquaculture, contributing to the sustainable supply of trout to meet rising consumer demand. We consider that this investment will deliver environmental benefits to the food system and offer a product to suit today's consumer needs."

1) Source: United Nations FAO, FAOSTAT Statistical Database

2) Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532560/#B2-foods-06-00053

For further information and enquiries, please contact:

About JLEN

JLEN's investment policy is to invest in a diversified portfolio of Environmental Infrastructure. Environmental Infrastructure is defined by the Company as infrastructure assets, projects and asset-backed businesses that utilise natural or waste resources or support more environmentally friendly approaches to economic activity, support the transition to a low carbon economy or which mitigate the effects of climate change. Such investments will typically feature one or more of the following characteristics:

- long-term, predictable cash flows, which may be wholly or partially inflation-linked cash flows;

- long-term contracts or stable and well-proven regulatory and legal frameworks; or

- well-established technologies, and demonstrable operational performance.

JLEN's aim is to provide investors with a sustainable, progressive dividend per share, paid quarterly and to preserve the capital value of the portfolio over the long term on a real basis. The target dividend for the year to 31 March 2023 is 7.14 pence per share1. The dividend is payable quarterly.

Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.jlen.com

LEI: 213800JWJN54TFBMBI68

(1) These are targets only and not profit forecasts. There can be no assurance that these targets will be met or that the Company will make any distributions at all.