Greencoat UK Wind in a float to buy six farms

Greencoat UK Wind has unveiled ambitious plans to raise £250 million by listing  its shares on the London  Stock Exchange.

The infrastructure fund, managed by Greencoat Capital, said it will use the money to buy six wind farms from utility groups SSE and RWE. 

The flotation is being backed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and SSE, who have agreed to buy a combined 45% of the shares on offer. The firm said it will give investors “rare direct access to assets that until now have not been easily available to investors”.

Sources close to the process said they hope to complete the stock-market listing by the end of March. Stephen Lilley, partner at Greencoat Capital, said: “Operating wind farms should make attractive investment assets, particularly for investors seeking long-term, predictable returns.

“Greencoat UK Wind represents the first opportunity to invest into a listed infrastructure fund, fully invested in operating UK wind farms.”

The company will buy four wind farms from SSE with a total generation capacity of 79.5 megawatt and two from RWE. The day-to-day operations of the wind farms will continue to be performed by its previous owners.

Gregor Alexander, SSE finance director, said: “This agreement represents the latest step in a programme… to optimise our wind  farm portfolio.”