GCP Infrastructure Investments
Limited
("GCP Infra" or the "Company")
LEI
213800W64MNATSIV5Z47
Onshore Wind Disposal and Capital
Allocation Policy Update
26 April
2024
Onshore Wind
Disposal
GCP Infra is pleased to announce it has
disposed of its interest in loan notes secured against Blackcraig
Wind Farm (the "Project"). The disposal occurred at a 6.4% premium
to the valuation of the Project as at 31 March 2024.
The Project is a 52.9MW onshore wind farm
located in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The Project benefits
from Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) subsidy support and has
been operational since May 2018. The Company originally acquired
the senior secured loan notes in 2017 from the UK Green Investment
Bank. As an alternative to receiving repayment in full on the
senior loan notes, the Company rolled over its senior secured loan
notes into an equity-like interest in the Project in July
2018.
The disposal has generated net cash proceeds of
c. £31 million. The net cash proceeds will be used to prepay
drawings under the Company's revolving credit facility. Following
such prepayment expected in the coming weeks, the Company's net
debt position will be c.£45 million. Further, the disposal has
reduced the Company's exposure to equity-like interests in the
onshore wind sector.
Capital
Allocation Policy Update
The Board of Directors of the Company adopted a
capital allocation policy as part of its 2023 Annual Report and
Accounts, reconfirming its intentions to prioritise a material
reduction in leverage, as well as reducing equity-like exposures
and exposures in certain sectors, as well as facilitating the
return of capital to shareholders. The Board set a conditional
target of releasing £150 million (c. 15% of the portfolio) from
disposals or refinancings, to materially reduce leverage and return
at least £50 million to shareholders before the end of the calendar
year 2024.
This disposal represents a positive first step
in facilitating the Company's execution on its capital allocation
policy, materially reducing leverage while decreasing equity
exposure across the portfolio. The Board and Gravis Capital
Management Limited (the "Investment Adviser") continue to focus on
additional opportunities for refinancings or disposals within the
portfolio, in order to achieve the targets, set out in the capital
allocation policy.
Andrew Didham, Chair of GCP Infra
commented:
"This
disposal reinforces the Company's commitment to its capital
allocation policy, prioritising the reduction of leverage in the
first instance, through a significant repayment of revolving credit
facilities. It will further benefit the risk adjusted return of the
portfolio, reducing equity-like exposure and exposure to
electricity price movements."
For further information, please
contact:
Gravis Capital Management Limited
Philip Kent
Max Gilbert
|
+44 (0)20
3405 8500
|
RBC
Capital Markets
Matthew Coakes
Elizabeth Evans
|
+44 (0)20
7653 4000
|
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited
Edward Gibson-Watt
Jonathan Wilkes-Green
|
+44 (0)20
7710 7600
|
Buchanan/Quill
Helen Tarbet
Sarah Gibbons-Cook
Henry Wilson
|
+44 (0)20
7466 5000
|
Notes to the Editor
About GCP Infra
GCP Infra is a closed-ended
investment company and FTSE-250 constituent, its shares are traded
on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company's
objective is to provide shareholders with regular, sustained,
long-term distributions and to preserve capital over the long term
by generating exposure to UK infrastructure debt and related and/or
similar assets.
The Company primarily targets
investments in infrastructure projects with long term, public
sector-backed, availability-based revenues. Where possible,
investments are structured to benefit from partial inflation
protection. GCP Infra is advised by Gravis Capital Management
Limited.
GCP Infra has been
awarded with the London Stock
Exchange's Green Economy Mark in recognition of its contribution to
positive environmental outcomes.