ORIT’s investment entitles it to around a 12% interest in Simply Blue Holdings
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) confirmed on Monday that it has invested €7.5m (£6.4m) into Simply Blue Holdings Limited.
Simply Blue Holdings Limited is the parent company of the Simply Blue Group (SBG), a developer of sustainable marine projects focused on floating offshore wind.
SBG has developed a pipeline of over 9GW of floating offshore wind projects to-date, primarily in the waters of the UK and Ireland.
SBG also has interests in wave energy and ancillary interests in sustainable aquaculture, in addition to its background in marine development. The company is headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with offices in the UK and the US.
ORIT’s investment, which is a co-investment alongside another fund managed by Octopus Renewables Limited, entitles it to around a 12% interest in SBG.
Phil Austin, Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc, gave his view on ORIT’s first investment into a renewable energy developer, as well as our first investment in the fast-growing offshore floating wind sector. “This investment will further diversify ORIT’s potential to create capital growth and may in time bring opportunities to invest in construction-ready assets arising from SBG’s development pipeline,” Austin said.
Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, added: “We are delighted to be working with Simply Blue, a leading marine project developer with a highly experienced and best-in-class management team. Floating offshore wind is a particularly exciting renewable energy sector which is expected to undergo rapid growth over the years to come and is a key part of government decarbonisation plans in a number of European countries. We believe Simply Blue is very well positioned to capture this growth.”
ORIT is an investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange, operating a diversified portfolio of renewable energy assets in Europe and Australia. Managed by Octopus Investments Limited, ORIT aims to provide investors with sizable and sustainable dividends, alongside capital growth.
The company produces 502GWh of electricity per year, powering 114,000 homes through clean energy. ORIT estimates that 79,000 tonnes of carbon emissions are avoided as a result of its operations. This is the equivalent to 389,000 new trees.
 confirmed on Monday that it has invested €7.5m (£6.4m) into Simply Blue Holdings Limited.){kind=link}