Jlen Environmental: Acquisition
01/08/2022 07:01
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RNS Number : 3477U JLEN Environmental Assets Group Ltd 01 August 2022
1 August 2022
JLEN Environmental Assets Group Limited
("JLEN" or the "Company")
Investment in a controlled environment aquaculture project
JLEN, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, is pleased to announce
that it has reached financial close on a minority equity investment in a
controlled environment aquaculture project.
The equity investment will be made alongside other Foresight funds, as well as
the developer and operator of the facility, Hima Seafood AS. JLEN's total
investment is expected to be up to approximately £40m over the next three to
four years.
The project consists of a land-based aquaculture facility to be built in
Rjukan, Norway, and will use established recirculating aquaculture system
("RAS") technology. It is expected that partial operations will commence in
2024 with full operations expected in 2025, following which, the facility is
forecasted to produce approximately 8,000 tonnes of trout annually. This will
be sold to European and international salmonid markets via an offtake
agreement with an established Norwegian seafood distribution company with
global reach.
Driven by a growing global population and an expanding middle class, the world
faces an increasing demand for quality protein amid limited resources of
usable land and water. Recent data shows that 34.8%(1) of global animal
protein production comes from fish and seafood sources and the fish and
seafood market grew between 4% - 8% annually in the ten-year period to
2019(1).
Global demand for animal protein is projected to double by 2050(2). Fish,
including salmonids such as salmon and trout, is considered one of the most
efficient sources of high-quality animal protein due to the rate at which it
converts feed into edible mass, its high protein retention and high rate of
edible meat per kilogram, as well as various nutritional benefits.
Land-based aquaculture, such as the RAS based facility to be built in Rjukan,
can provide a range of benefits compared with alternative methods of
aquaculture such as improved fish mortality rates, less local environmental
degradation and a lower use of antibiotics and other chemicals to control
disease and parasites.
Richard Ramsay, Senior Independent Director of JLEN, said:
"We are pleased to make our first investment into land-based aquaculture,
contributing to the sustainable supply of trout to meet rising consumer
demand. We consider that this investment will deliver environmental benefits
to the food system and offer a product to suit today's consumer needs."
1) Source: United Nations FAO, FAOSTAT Statistical Database
2) Source:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532560/#B2-foods-06-00053
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532560/#B2-foods-06-00053)
For further information and enquiries, please contact:
Foresight Group +44 (0)20 3667 8100
Chris Tanner
Chris Holmes
Winterflood Investment Trusts +44 (0)20 3100 0000
Neil Langford
Chris Mills
SEC Newgate (For media enquiries) +44 (0)20 3757 6882
Elisabeth Cowell jlen@secnewgate.co.uk (mailto:jlen@secnewgate.co.uk)
Sanne Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited +44 (0)14 8175 5530
Matt Falla
Gemma Woods
About JLEN
JLEN's investment policy is to invest in a diversified portfolio of
Environmental Infrastructure. Environmental Infrastructure is defined by the
Company as infrastructure assets, projects and asset-backed businesses that
utilise natural or waste resources or support more environmentally friendly
approaches to economic activity, support the transition to a low carbon
economy or which mitigate the effects of climate change. Such investments will
typically feature one or more of the following characteristics:
- long-term, predictable cash flows, which may be wholly or
partially inflation-linked cash flows;
- long-term contracts or stable and well-proven regulatory and legal
frameworks; or
- well-established technologies, and demonstrable operational
performance.
JLEN's aim is to provide investors with a sustainable, progressive dividend
per share, paid quarterly and to preserve the capital value of the portfolio
over the long term on a real basis. The target dividend for the year to 31
March 2023 is 7.14 pence per share(1). The dividend is payable quarterly.
Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.jlen.com
(http://www.jlen.com)
LEI: 213800JWJN54TFBMBI68
(1) These are targets only and not profit forecasts. There can be no
assurance that these targets will be met or that the Company will make any
distributions at all.
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