3i Infrastructure backed Future
Biogas acquires portfolio of six anaerobic digestion
facilities
15 AUGUST 2024
3i Infrastructure plc ("3i
Infrastructure" or "the Company") today announces that Future
Biogas, one of the largest anaerobic digestion ("AD") plant
developers and biogas producers in the UK, has agreed to acquire
51% of a portfolio of six gas-to-grid AD facilities, with a
combined gas output of 333GWh, from JLEN Environmental Assets Group
Limited ("JLEN") for £68.1 million. £30 million will be funded by
3i Infrastructure, with the balance funded by Future Biogas from
committed debt facilities.
Future Biogas is very familiar with
these assets, having originally developed five of the six plants as
well as operating each for an average of eight years. As majority
owner, Future Biogas will be able to deliver investment-led
enhancements already identified by the management team. The
acquisition also provides Future Biogas with immediate scale, which
we expect will be attractive to potential acquirers when we decide
to exit.
In line with our original investment
thesis, since 3i Infrastructure first invested in Future Biogas in
2023, the company has successfully transitioned from being a
third-party plant operator to an asset owner and developer, with a
1.3TWh pipeline of new sites.
Construction has also begun at the
Gonerby Moor site, which, as previously announced, will operate on
an unsubsidised basis under a 15-year green gas offtake agreement
with AstraZeneca.
Philipp Lukas, Chief Executive
Officer of Future Biogas, said: "We are very pleased to be
acquiring a stake in this portfolio of anaerobic digestion plants
from JLEN, who we will continue to work with constructively. We
know the assets well having developed them and managed them for an
average of eight years. The transaction is a key step in building a
scalable AD platform under Future Biogas, enabling us to upgrade
the plant portfolio and extend their lives beyond the current RHI
subsidy. Critically, it provides a means to continue to deliver
under our Project Carbon Harvest mission to generate and supply
green gas, helping decarbonise UK farms and industry."
Scott Moseley and Bernardo
Sottomayor, Managing Partners and Co-Heads of European
Infrastructure, 3i Investments plc, Investment Manager of the
Company, said: "It is increasingly clear that biogas will play an
important role within the UK's energy transition. This acquisition
represents an important milestone, clearly establishing Future
Biogas as the leading independent owner and developer of AD plants
in the UK."
-ENDS-
For
further information, contact:
Notes to editors:
3i
Infrastructure plc
3i Infrastructure plc is a
Jersey-incorporated, closed-ended investment company, an approved
UK Investment Trust, listed on the London Stock Exchange and
regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. The
Company's purpose is to invest responsibly in infrastructure,
delivering long-term sustainable returns to shareholders and having
a positive influence on its portfolio companies and their
stakeholders.
3i Investments plc, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of 3i Group plc, is authorised and regulated in the UK
by the Financial Conduct Authority and is the investment manager of
3i Infrastructure plc.