Greencoat UK Wind announced the agreement with Global Infrastructure Partners for the acquisition of a net 12.5% stake in Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm for a total cash consideration of roughly £400m on Monday
Greencoat UK Wind is a leading renewable infrastructure fund listed on the FTSE250 which invests in UK wind farms.
The group announced the deal made with Global Infrastructure Partners to buy a net 12.5% stake in Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm for £400m including cash and working capital is expected to complete in Q3 2022.
Greencoat UK Wind expects to fund the purchase through cash flow and its revolving credit facility.
Hornsea 1 Offshore Wind Farm
Hornsea 1 is the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, located in the North Sea 80 miles off the coast of Yorkshire.
The offshore wind farm is the world’s first offshore wind farm to reach 1GW, with 174 Siemens 7MW turbines and a grid export capacity of 1,200MW.
Hornsea 1 started full commercial production in December 2019, with a high load factor and a 15-year CFD at £175.25/MWh.
Orsted owns 50% of Hornsea 1 and GIP owns the remaining 50%, with GIP’s stake being backed by £2.9bn in limited recourse loans.
Greencoat UK Wind’s pro-rata portion of this limited recourse debt is £0.7bn, giving the group’s net 12.5% ownership a total enterprise value of £1.1bn.
Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm’s operation, maintenance, and administration will be continued by Orsted.
Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Chairman, Greencoat UK Wind commented, “As the leading independent UK wind farm owner, we are pleased to announce our investment into the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Hornsea 1 has a high load factor and high CFD price which complements our subsidy free investments.”
“This transaction, once completed, will add another high quality operating asset to our portfolio and increase our net generating capacity to over 1.6GW.”
“We continue to see an attractive pipeline of projects, both onshore and offshore, and given the size and scale that the Company has attained over recent years, we remain strongly positioned to deliver more value-accretive acquisitions and extend our track record of strong shareholder returns,” added the Chairman.
The shares of Greencoat UK Wind fell 0.2% to 154.7p on Monday following the news of the acquistion.