REG - Gore Street Energy - Final Results
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RNS Number : 3889R Gore Street Energy Storage Fund PLC 17 July 2025
17 July 2025
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc
(the "Company" or "GSF")
Audited Full Year Results to 31 March 2025
Doubled energised capacity, secured long-term revenue contracts, monetised US
Tax Credits and implemented proprietary AI-based trading, which positions the
Company to capitalise on revenue opportunities across five grids.
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, the internationally diversified energy
storage fund, is pleased to announce its Audited Full Year results for the
year ended 31 March 2025.
Highlights for the year ended 31 March 2025:
· NAV per ordinary share of 102.8 pence (4% drop from 31 March 2024:
107.0p) driven by updated third-party revenue curves. The NAV Total Return for
the period, including dividends paid, was 1.1%.
· NAV as at 31 March 2025 was £519.3m, bringing NAV total return since
IPO to 48.0%.
· Energised capacity more than doubled to 921.4 MWh (31 March 2024:
421.4 MW / 392.1 MWh) following the energisation of three assets in GB,
California, and Texas.
· The portfolio generated operating revenue of £35.3m and operating
EBITDA of £21.0m from an average of 408.9 MW of operating capacity during the
financial year (FY2023/24: £41.4m revenue, £28.4m operational EBITDA based
on an average of 311.5 MW operating capacity).
· Average revenue for the year was £9.85 per MW/hr, equal to £86,000
per MW/yr.
· As at 31 March 2025, the Company and its investments had £30.5m of
available cash, and debt headroom of £56.3m, with debt drawn at £112.6m,
equal to 17.8% of GAV.
· The Company secured long-term revenue certainty for over $14 million
in revenue per year from the Big Rock project in California, through a 12-year
Resource Adequacy.
· Regular dividends declared for the period of 4.0 pence per share. An
additional special dividend of 3.0 pence per share is expected in H2 2025 when
proceeds from the sale of the Big Rock Investment Tax Credits ("ITCs") are
available for distribution. The Company increased its existing revolving
credit facility with Santander from £50m to £100m.
· Using a bespoke AI-driven trading model, Gore Street Energy Trading
(GSET), which managed 68% of the Company's GB portfolio at period-end,
outperformed the Modo industry benchmark by 11%.
Highlights since 31 March 2025 and Outlook
· Investment Manager's fee will be reduced from 1 October 2025. Based
on the average share price during the 2024/25 financial year, this would have
resulted in an estimated saving of c.22% or £1.14m.
· Investment Tax Credits & Outlook:
o The Company has entered into agreements to sell the US investment Tax
Credits for the Dogfish (TX) and Big Rock (CA) assets for c.$84 million,
exceeding previously announced guidance. All proceeds from the Dogfish project
have been received. For Big Rock, 50% of the proceeds have been received, with
the remaining amount expected by the end of the calendar year.
· Shareholder Consultation, Independent Strategy Review and Update on
Capital Allocation and Dividends:
o The Board conducted an extensive shareholder consultation, which confirmed
support for a special 3p dividend funded by ITC proceeds.
o The Board engaged Alexa Capital as an independent financial adviser to
review the Company's strategy.
o The results of Alexa Capital's independent assessment agreed with the
Company's capital allocation approach, which, together with existing
commitments, includes:
§ $30 million paydown of Big Rock loans and final construction cost payments.
§ 3p special dividend from Big Rock ITC proceeds.
§ £18-22 million to augment two near-term prioritised GB assets (Stony and
Ferrymuir) from 1-hour to 2-hour duration, subject to final value analysis. A
further asset is being considered (Enderby), as a secondary target.
o As previously guided, the Company is transitioning to a dividend aligned
with project cash flows and EBITDA. Based on the latest analysis, which
reflects the 6-month delay in several new assets coming online and no increase
in base merchant revenues from the last 12 months, the Board's dividend
guidance is:
§ 3p special dividend as described above.
§ 0.75p per share per quarter commencing with the quarter ending 30 September
2025 and continuing through FY26/27, with potential for higher dividends
during that period if merchant revenue improves.
· Please see the Chair's statement in the annual report for
details.
ESG & Sustainability:
· During the reporting period, the operational portfolio avoided 11,970
tCO(2)e and stored 39,290 MWh of renewable electricity.
· The FY 2024/25 ESG and Sustainability Report will be published and
available on the Company's website in early September.
Results Presentation Today:
There will be a presentation for sell-side analysts at 9:30 a.m. today, 17
July 2025. Please contact Burson Buchanan for details
on gorestreet@buchanancomms.co.uk
A presentation for investors will also be held today, 17 July 2025, on the
Investor Meets Company Platform at 11:00 a.m.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet GORE
STREET ENERGY STORAGE FUND
PLC via: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/gore-street-energy-storage-fund-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/gore-street-energy-storage-fund-plc/register-investor)
Annual Report:
The Company's annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 are
also being published in hard copy format and an electronic copy will shortly
be available to download from the Company's
webpages https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com/
(https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com/index) .
Please click on the following link to view the
document: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3889R_1-2025-7-16.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3889R_1-2025-7-16.pdf)
The Company will be submitting its Annual Report and Accounts to the National
Storage Mechanism, which will shortly be available for inspection
at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism) .
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc Annual report for the year ended 31 March
2025
Key Metrics
For the year ending 31 March 2025
NAV PER SHARE
102.8p
(2024: 107.0p)
OPERATIONAL EBITDA
£21.0m
(2024: £28.4m)
DIVIDEND YIELD
9.5%
(2024: 11.6%)
NAV TOTAL RETURN
for the year ended 31 March 2025
1.1%
(2024: -1.2%)
OPERATIONAL CAPACITY
421.4MW**
(2024: 371.5MW)
DIVIDENDS PAID DURING THE YEAR
5.5p
(2024: 7.5p)
KEY METRICS As at 31 March 2025 As at 31 March 2024
Net Asset Value (NAV) £519.3m £540.7m
Number of issued Ordinary shares 505.1m 505.1m
NAV per share 102.8p 107.0p
NAV total return* 1.1% -1.2%
NAV total return since IPO* 48.0% 48.4%
Share price 58.2p 64.5p
Market capitalisation £294.0m £325.8m
Share price total return* -2.6% -30.0%
Share price total return since IPO* -14.3% -10.2%
Discount to NAV* -43.4% -39.7%
Portfolio's total capacity 1.25 GW 1.25 GW
Portfolio's operational capacity 421.4 MW** 371.5 MW
Average operational capacity 408.9 MW 311.5 MW
Total portfolio revenue £35.3m £41.4m
Average revenue per MW/yr £86,286 £132,905
Operational EBITDA* £21.0m £28.4m
Total Fund earnings* £8.7m £20.2m
Dividends per Ordinary Share paid during the year 5.5p 7.5p
Operational dividend cover for the year* 0.76x 0.78x
Total Fund dividend cover for the year* 0.32x 0.56x
Dividend Yield* 9.5% 11.6%
Gross asset value (GAV)* £631.9m £578.1m
Gearing* 17.8% 6.5%
Ongoing Charges Figure* 1.38% 1.42%
* Some of the financial measures above are classified as
Alternative Performance Measures, as defined by the European Securities and
Markets Authority and are indicated with an asterisk (*). Definitions of these
performance measures, and other terms used in this report, are given on page
97 of the 2025 Annual Report together with supporting calculations where
appropriate.
** The 57MW Enderby Asset, 75MW Dogfish and 200MW Big Rock asset were
energised during the reporting period, taking the total energised capacity to
753.4MW at year end.
Chair's Statement
On behalf of the Board of the Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, I am
pleased to present the Company's Annual Results for the year ended 31 March
2025.
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the Annual Report of Gore
Street Energy Storage Fund plc for the year ended 31 March 2025. This was a
year of significant growth and transformation, during which the Company
substantially delivered against the strategic, operational, and financial
objectives that were outlined over a year ago. We more than doubled our
energised capacity, secured long-term contracted revenue, and have begun to
employ bespoke AI-driven algorithmic trading for our GB assets, which has
yielded 11% revenue outperformance against the industry benchmark.
Our geographically diversified portfolio now exceeds 750 MW energised across
five grid networks and regulatory systems, leaving the Company positioned to
generate long-term cash flows as the portfolio matures, all while supporting
the global clean energy transition.
We know that this has been a challenging year for shareholders, which led the
entire board to participate in extensive one-to-one discussions with
shareholders. Following those discussions, the Board took decisive steps to
align with shareholder priorities on dividends, debt repayment, and cost
reduction, including revisions to the AIFM agreement.
Independent Review
Given the persistent share price discount to NAV affecting the Company, the
Board retained Alexa Capital LLP, a specialist clean energy transition
advisory firm, to review the Company and to support the Board in evaluating
the best potential options for maximising shareholder value.
The scope of the review is broad, exploring M&A, debt repayment, and
growth options, including the rationalisation of the asset base to free up
capital to pursue current asset enhancement and building out of the pipeline.
The review covers opportunities to optimise trading as well as alternative
revenue structures such as cap and floor or tolling contracts. This process is
ongoing, but preliminary results identify several actionable opportunities.
For example, given the rapid decline in capex and the increasingly
trading-dominant GB market the augmenting of selected GB assets with
additional capacity (from 1 to 2-hour systems) has been identified, as the
review shows markets ascribing greater value to 2-hour systems.
Assuming the preliminary results hold, we expect to augment three GB assets:
Stony (79.9 MW) and Ferrymuir (49.9 MW), followed by Enderby (57 MW). These
sites were selected based on their modular, modern design, which allows for
relatively quick upgrade times and limited downtime of the existing MWhs,
thereby minimising disruption to revenue generation while enhancing long-term
returns.
The Board believes this is a compelling example of how the Company can
continue to extract value from its existing portfolio while maintaining
capital discipline. Further outcomes from the independent review will be
communicated in due course.
Special Dividends
In addition to the declared 1.0 pence per share for the quarter ended 31 March
2025, once the proceeds from the sale of Big Rock Investment Tax Credits
(ITCs) (which was signed on 11 July) are available to distribute, the Board
intends to declare a special dividend of an additional 3.0 pence per share.
Under the terms of the agreement, Big Rock's proceeds have been structured to
be monetised in tranches. Post-period, the Company received 50% of the Big
Rock's ITC, with the next 25% proceeds payable by the ITC buyer by
September-end 2025 and with the last tranche payable by November-end 2025. Per
the terms of the Big Rock Debt Facility, the first tranche will be used to
reduce the debt facility from $90 million to $60 million and to fund reserves
to cover the final settlement of Big Rock construction and acquisition costs.
This will result in lowering the Company's gearing and associated borrowing
costs.
Upon availability of the remaining proceeds, the Board intends to distribute
3.0 pence per share by way of special dividends in two equal instalments of
1.5 pence per share, to be paid by the end of the calendar year. Separate
dividend announcements will be made in due course to confirm the record and
payment dates.
Dividend Policy
The Board has reviewed the Company's capital allocation priorities in the
context of its operational progress and financial position, and conservatively
forecast cash flows for the next 24 months. From the second quarter of the
financial year, the Board intends to pay a quarterly dividend of 0.75 pence
per share, with the first payment expected in respect of the quarter ending 30
September 2025.
This forecasted level of distribution is underpinned by a weighted average
operational capacity of c.600MW during FY25/26, increasing to c.700MW
(adjusted for ownership) in F26/27. It is critically based on conservative
revenue assumptions, specifically (i) that other than for Big Rock, there is
no increase in average portfolio revenues from FY 24/25 and (ii) for Big Rock
half the revenues are per the fixed pricing under the 12-year Resource
Adequacy contract and the other half on the current central merchant price
forecast. If revenues recover, we can expect higher dividends. The 2026/27
financial year will see the portfolio's full prioritised capacity generating
revenue for the whole period, providing further potential for growth in free
cash flow and distributions.
As previously announced, a special dividend of 3.0 pence per share is expected
to be paid towards the end of the calendar year, in line with the monetisation
of the Big Rock ITC. In light of this, no additional dividend will be declared
in respect of the quarter ending 30 June 2025.
While FY26 represents a bridging year for the Company, the Board expects the
dividend to step up to a minimum annual target of 3 pence per share as the
portfolio reaches full run-rate capacity. The upcoming strategy update will
inform the long-term dividend policy from FY27 onwards, ensuring that
distributions remain aligned with the Company's scale, market conditions, and
capital allocation priorities.
The Board remains committed to a disciplined and transparent approach to
shareholder returns. Dividends will be paid from free cash flow, subject to
prudent reserves and compliance with debt covenants.
AIFM Agreement
The Company continues to benefit from its relationship with Gore Street
Investment Management, the appointed AIFM and Investment Manager. The
Investment Manager brings a specialisation that has delivered tangible
benefits to the Company. Effective from 1 October this year, the Board has
negotiated a reduction in the fees payable under the AIFM agreement, bringing
it into line with market, with changes as follows:
• Management Fee Calculation:
Management fees will be calculated as 1% per annum of the sum of 50% of
adjusted NAV and 50% of market capitalisation. This replaces the previous
NAV-only basis.
• Management Fee Cap:
The annual management fee will be capped at 1% of adjusted NAV.
• Performance Fees:
Both the performance fee and the exit performance fee will be removed.
• Takeover Provisions:
The termination fee in the event of a takeover will be removed.
• Quarterly Charging Basis:
Management fees will continue to be charged quarterly. The market cap
component will be calculated as the average of the daily closing market
capitalisation during the relevant quarter, while the NAV will continue to be
calculated as of the quarter-end.
• Estimated Saving:
Based on the average share price during the 2024/25 financial year, the
revised management fee structure would have resulted in an estimated saving of
c.22% or £1.14 million, excluding any additional savings from the removal of
performance-related fees.
Debt Position
The Company and its investments ended the year with £30.5 million in
available cash and £56.3 million in undrawn debt headroom. Total debt drawn
on a look-through basis (referring to both company-level and asset-level
borrowings) was £112.6 million. During the year, the Company upsized its
revolving credit facility to £100 million and secured additional
project-level debt in California. The Company expects to be in line with the
previously guided GAV ratio of 15-20% for the completion of the prioritised
portfolio.
Portfolio Performance
While the current operational portfolio exceeds 750 MW, for the year under
review, revenue of £35.3 million with an operational EBITDA of £21.0 million
was achieved from an average operational portfolio of 408.9 MW. This resulted
in an average revenue of £9.85/MW/hr. While this represents a decline from
the previous year, it was achieved in the context of evolving market dynamics
and is significantly above our peer group, reflecting the resilience of our
diversified portfolio.
Fleetwide availability exceeded 95% through an asset management strategy that
focuses on proactive maintenance, warranty management, and the increasing use
of an advanced analytics platform to monitor asset health and optimise
performance.
Construction progress over the year was substantial, with the Company's
energised portfolio increasing from 421.4 MW / 392.1 MWh to 753.4 MW / 924.1
MWh. As previously reported, three major assets were successfully energised:
Big Rock (California), Dogfish (Texas), and Enderby (Great Britain). With
these assets now coming online, the portfolio presents a materially reduced
risk profile and an increased revenue-generating asset base.
Net Asset Value Performance
As of 31 March 2025, the Company reports a NAV of £519.3 million, or 102.8
pence per share, representing a NAV total return of 1.1% over the year. This
aligns with the previously reported unaudited NAV announced on 18 June, having
subsequently been reviewed and audited by the Company's auditor, Ernst and
Young.
Key NAV drivers over the period included updated revenue curve assumptions
(-6.1 pence), inflation (-1.0 pence), and dividends (-5.5 pence), partially
offset by asset de-risking (+3.2 pence) and net portfolio returns (+5.2
pence).
Shareholder Engagement
In May and early June 2025, the Board undertook an extensive institutional
shareholder roadshow to gather feedback on the Company's market positioning,
capital allocation strategy, treatment of US Investment Tax Credits, and
approach to leverage. Discussions covered a wide range of options, including
reinvesting for long-term growth, dividend payments, share buybacks, debt
redemption, asset recycling, co-investment options and M&A.
A majority of shareholders spoken to expressed their priority of meeting the
7p dividend target for the 2024/25 financial year. The Company has
successfully monetised the ITCs associated with its recently completed US
assets, generating proceeds of c.$84 million net of insurance costs, exceeding
prior guidance. As detailed in the dividends section of this report, we are
now on track to declare the special dividends in autumn and by the calendar
year end.
The Board is committed to maintaining this active and transparent engagement
with shareholders. In addition to regular meetings and investor calls, the
Board seeks feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. A formal "Annual Board
Engagement Schedule" will be included in the Shareholder Information section
of this report. Shareholders may contact the Chair via the Company's
registered office or reach out via the investor relations team at
ir@gorestreetcap.com.
Share Price Discount Management
While the Board does not currently intend to undertake share buybacks, it is
seeking shareholder approval to maintain the authority to do so in the future.
Sustainability
Sustainability remains central to our strategy. This year, the operational
portfolio avoided 11,970 tCO₂e and stored over 39,000 MWh of renewable
electricity, enough to power c.14,500 homes. Further to the SFDR disclosures
included in this report and available on page 89 of the 2025 Annual Report, we
will also publish our annual ESG & Sustainability report in early
September 2025, which will include further details on our approach to
sustainability and key metrics.
Board Succession Planning
As the Company approaches its 8th anniversary, three of the current directors
are due to retire in the next two years. The Board of Directors is committed
to gradually completing the succession process. As detailed in its report the
Nomination and Remuneration Committee has progressed with the recruitment and
aims to announce the first director appointment before the end of 2025.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
The AGM will be held at the offices of Stephenson Harwood, 1 Finsbury Circus,
London, EC2M 7SH on 18th September 2025. Further details are included in the
Notice of AGM on page 84 of the 2025 Annual Report. I look forward to
welcoming shareholders attending in person. If you are not able to attend in
person or prefer to vote by proxy but have questions for the Board, please
contact the Company Secretary at cosec@gorestreetcap.com.
Investment Manager's Report
Dr Alex O'Cinneide
CEO of Gore Street Capital, the Investment Manager
This has been a landmark year for the Company, defined by increased scale,
delivery and innovation. We have more than doubled our operational portfolio
capacity, reaching nearly 1 GWh across five energy systems. We have secured
$165 million in long-term contracted revenue and have strengthened the cash
position with additional funding from two high-quality lenders and
monetisation of all Investment Tax Credits for the Company's recently
energised US assets. Going forward, this increase in the revenue-generating
capacity will be complemented by a declining cost base, supported by a revised
fee structure based on market capitalisation and net asset value. Our
diversified strategy and active approach have ensured that we continue to
generate best-in-class revenue.
Increased Contracted Income
$14m p.a. contract secured for 12 years.
Proceeds from ITC
Post-period, the total consideration for the Investment Tax Credits associated
with both US assets is c.$84 million net of insurance costs exceeding the
previously guided range.
Increased Energised Capacity
Energised capacity more than doubled materially reducing the risk profile of
the portfolio.
Highlights:
The energised portfolio increased to 753.4 MW / 924 MWh (FY23/24: 421.4 MW /
392.1 MWh).
The portfolio generated £35.3m of revenue during the financial year. This
amounted to £21.0m in operational EBITDA.
The Board of Directors approved a dividend of 1.0 pence per ordinary share for
the March-end 2025 quarter. As outlined in the Company's recent June update,
it expects to distribute a further 3 pence per share once the proceeds from
the sale of the Big Rock ITCs become available for distribution, which is
expected to be in H2 2025. The Board intends to distribute 3 pence per share
by way of special dividends in two equal instalments of 1.5 pence per share,
to be paid by the end of the calendar year.
The Company achieved an operational dividend cover of 0.76x and a fund-level
dividend cover of 0.32x.
As at March-end 2025, the Company and its investments had £30.5m of available
cash, and a debt headroom of £56.3m, with debt drawn at £112.6m.
The Company secured the stackable, fixed-price Resource Adequacy contract in
California for the Big Rock asset, worth over $14 million annually.
The Company's assets continued to support the energy transition by providing
services needed to integrate more renewable energy sources into the grid. The
operational portfolio avoided 11,970 tCO(2)e and stored 39,290 MWh of
renewable electricity.
This is equivalent to c.14,500 homes powered by renewable electricity for a
year.(1)
Post-Period:
The Company completed the sale of the Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) for the
Dogfish and Big Rock assets in Texas and California, respectively. The
consideration for the Investment Tax Credits associated with both US assets is
c.$84 million net of insurance, exceeding the previously guided range. The
proceeds from the sale of the Dogfish have been received, with the first
tranche of the Big Rock proceeds also received.
Net Asset Value:
• NAV as at 31 March 2025 was £519.3 million, bringing NAV
total return since IPO to 48.0%.
• NAV per ordinary share of 102.8 pence per share.
Table 1: Movement in NAV since March 2024
Movement in NAV since March 2024 Changes in NAV (PPS)
NAV March 2024 107.0
Dividends (5.5)
Revenue Curves (6.1)
Inflation (1.0)
Derisking of Assets 3.2
Net Portfolio Returns 5.2
NAV March 2025 102.8
Macroeconomic factors were the primary drivers of the Company's NAV over the
reporting period. Updated third-party revenue curves resulted in a negative
NAV impact of 6.1 pence per share. Updated inflation assumptions had a further
1.0 pence per share negative impact on NAV.
Net portfolio returns, which include cash generation from the operational
portfolio, secured pricing for the Resource Adequacy contract net of
Company-level costs which resulted in a net positive 5.2 pence per share
impact on NAV.
A glossary of industry terms can be found on page 100 of the 2025 Annual
Report.
1 This assumes a 2700 kWh yearly consumption of electricity per home
in GB.
Portfolio Overview
United States
200 MW
in the Californian market
145 MW
in the Texan market
Europe
497 MW
in the GB market
385 MW
across the combined NI & ROI market
22 MW
in the German market
Table 2: Portfolio Overview
Assets MW MWh Geography Grid
Energised Portfolio
Lascar 20.0 20.0 GB NESO
GS10 (formerly known as Ancala) 11.2 11.2 GB NESO
Larport 19.5 19.5 GB NESO
Hulley 20.0 20.0 GB NESO
Breach 10.0 10.0 GB NESO
Cenin 4.0 4.8 GB NESO
Boulby 6.0 6.0 GB NESO
Port of Tilbury 9.0 4.5 GB NESO
Lower Road 10.0 5.0 GB NESO
Stony 79.9 79.9 GB NESO
Ferrymuir 49.9 49.9 GB NESO
Enderby 57.0 57.0 GB NESO
Mullavilly 50.0 21.3 NI EirGrid/Soni
Drumkee 50.0 21.3 NI EirGrid/Soni
Porterstown I (PBSL) 30.0 30.0 ROI EirGrid/Soni
Cremzow 22.0 29.0 Germany 50 Hz
Snyder 9.95 19.9 Texas, US ERCOT
Sweetwater 9.95 19.9 Texas, US ERCOT
Westover 9.95 19.9 Texas, US ERCOT
Dogfish 75.0 75.0 Texas, US ERCOT
Big Rock 200.0 400.0 California, US CAISO
Energised Capacity Total 753.4 924.1
Pre-Construction Portfolio
Mineral Wells 9.95 n/a Texas, US ERCOT
Cedar Hill 9.95 n/a Texas, US ERCOT
Wichita Falls 9.95 n/a Texas, US ERCOT
Mesquite 9.95 n/a Texas, US ERCOT
PBSL-expansion 60.0 n/a ROI EirGrid/Soni
KBSL 30.0 n/a ROI EirGrid/Soni
KBSL-expansion 90.0 n/a ROI EirGrid/Soni
Middleton 200.0 n/a GB NESO
Mucklagh 75.0 n/a ROI EirGrid/Soni
Pre-Construction Capacity Total 494.8
Overall Portfolio 1,248.2
Revenue Generation and Portfolio Performance
The macro drivers of energy security and decarbonisation remained prominent
during the reported period across all of the markets in which the Company
operates. The European Union continued to pursue ambitious renewable energy
targets, encouraged by strong regulatory support, with substantial market
reforms underway designed to incentivise the deployment of critical
infrastructure such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). In the United
States, although a shift in political priorities became evident toward the end
of the reported period, mounting pressure from the threat of increasing energy
costs and decreased energy security led to nationwide legal disputes and
uncertainty around the 4-year outlook for energy infrastructure in this
market. Nonetheless, the advantageous position as an incumbent asset owner
remains clear.
Assets located in the Great Britain market experienced a substantial increase
in revenue in FY24/25 Q4, driven both by a growing opportunity in the
wholesale and balancing markets, and increased demand for ancillary services.
The higher revenue was underpinned by increased dispatch rates in the
balancing mechanism and the introduction of new ancillary services, which
alleviated saturation in the market by increasing total procurement volumes.
The Irish market continued to be the portfolio's highest earning market, with
the current DS3 arrangements set to remain in place until the earlier of the
replacement service go-live date or 30 September 2027. The BESS revenue stack
in Ireland has historically been heavily dominated by ancillary services.
However, trading revenue showed a material year-on-year increase, driven by
higher spreads caused by days of colder temperatures. The Investment Manager's
decision to increase participation in the wholesale market led to improved
revenue. Post‑reporting period, the start of the Scheduling and Dispatch
Programme (SDP) in Ireland was delayed further until November 2025, the change
is expected to further increase the trading opportunities available for Irish
BESS.
The German market remained highly attractive, with continued renewable energy
buildout and regulatory support for BESS. Increased solar generation played a
pivotal role in the 48% increase in revenue year-on-year. Suppressed midday
energy prices, caused by high solar generation, led to increased prices in
Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) and automatic Frequency Restoration
Reserve (aFRR) which BESS were well placed to capture. The evolving generation
mix has led to a surge in the deployment of battery storage, with installed
capacity set to nearly double by the end of FY25/26.
In Texas, the market faced a decline in BESS revenue due to the saturation of
ancillary services and milder summer conditions compared to the previous year.
However, a shift from ancillary services to trading presented opportunities in
capturing real-time price spikes. The portfolio assets outperformed the Modo
market benchmark over the period.
Table 3: Overview of the GB Market
TSO National Energy System Operator (NESO)
GB Portfolio (energised) 296.5 MW / 287.8 MWh
Market Share 6%
Average revenue in the GB market saw a 22.5% year-on-year increase.(2) This
growth was primarily driven by opportunities within the wholesale market and
the Balancing Mechanism (BM).
During the reporting period, BM dispatch rates increased, in part due to the
Open Balancing Platform (OBP) reforms and the increased duration of bids and
offers of BESS assets. The OBP reform enabled the grid operator to dispatch
BESS more frequently and for longer periods, putting BESS in competition with
conventional thermal generation in the BM. The volume of BESS dispatched in
the BM increased by 257% to 284 GWh compared to the previous financial year.
While there remains scope for improvement in the BM dispatch process, the
recent performance underscores the crucial role BESS plays in the operation of
the grid.
The Day-Ahead (DA) wholesale market saw a substantial increase in spreads,
averaging 20% higher than the previous financial year. This rise was largely
influenced by wind generation, which contributed to price volatility
throughout the summer months.
Conversely, during the colder winter season, the higher costs associated with
marginal generation units, such as gas peakers, led to increased energy prices
when these units were dispatched.
Dynamic Containment (DC) prices also increased by 6% compared to the previous
financial year. The increase in pricing was supported by an increase in
procurement volume by 15% year-on-year, as well as the introduction of a new
product "Quick Reserve" (QR) in December 2024. Procurement volumes across
Ancillary Services increased by 1.2 GW year-on-year, with increases in
procurement of Dynamic Moderation and Regulation towards the end of the
reporting period further reducing ancillary services market saturation and
leading to notable DC/M/R price increases.
Quick Reserve is designed to provide pre-fault disturbance response.
Initially, Phase 1 only permits BM registered assets to participate, while
Phase 2, planned for Summer 2025, will allow non-BM assets to participate.
NESO currently procures 800 MW of QR, with BESS providing a significant
portion of the capacity. The Investment Manager systematically seeks to
qualify and enter the portfolio in all available revenue streams in the market
and consequently will look to prequalify the majority of the portfolio's
non-BM assets in Phase 2.
Ferrymuir, a 49.9 MW/49.9 MWh asset, is BM registered due to its location in
Scotland, and to align with its obligation under its Bilateral Embedded
License exemptible large power station Agreement (BELLA). Ferrymuir's location
in Scotland enables it to provide balancing actions which can alleviate grid
constraints between Scotland and England. Due to the large build out of wind
generation in Scotland, current thermal restrictions on transmission lines
limit the amount of power that can be transmitted from Scotland to England.
Assets in Scotland are able to provide congestion relief to the grid by
importing energy during periods of constraints and dispatching energy once
these constraints are resolved.
During the period, the portfolio's Enderby asset was successfully energised.
Enderby is the portfolio's first transmission connected asset and will deliver
voltage and frequency services to the grid under a Mandatory Services
Agreement (MSA), further diversifying the Company's revenue streams.
All available capacity was bid into the March 2025 T-4 Capacity Market
auction. No capacity was available to be bid into the March 2025 T-1 auction.
The Capacity Market T-4 auction cleared at £60/kW/year, with the portfolio
securing 51.809 MW of non-derated capacity. This will provide c. £717,000 of
revenue over the 2028/2029 delivery year (October 2028 to September 2029).
2 Based on the Modo benchmark on a per MW/basis, excluding
the Capacity Market.
Irish Market
Table 4: Overview of the Irish Market
TSO SONI (Northern Ireland), EirGrid (Republic of Ireland)
Irish Portfolio 130.0 MW / 72.6 MWh
Market Share 13%
The Irish Market operates under the combined Republic of Ireland (ROI) and
Northern Ireland (NI) market called the Single Energy Market (SEM). The
Delivering a Secure Sustainable Electricity System (DS3) initiative was
introduced in Ireland to facilitate the integration of non-synchronous
renewable energy sources, primarily wind power onto the grid. Under the DS3
regime, batteries in Ireland hold long term DS3 contracts which allow systems
to participate in ancillary services. Initially due to expire in 2023, the
regime has been extended until the earlier of the implementation of the new
service or 30 September 2027.
The portfolio's Northern Irish assets, Mullavilly and Drumkee, hold DS3
uncapped contracts. The Republic of Ireland site, Porterstown, holds a DS3
capped contract. DS3 capped contracts are fixed price contracts. DS3 uncapped
contract prices vary according to scaling factors linked to the System
Non-Synchronous Penetration (SNSP). SNSP is a real-time metric that gauges the
level of intermittent renewable generation and net interconnector flows within
the grid, defined as a percentage of electricity demand on the system. DS3
rates increase as SNSP increases, meaning that batteries delivering DS3
services see increasing remuneration for their response at times when the
system needs it the most.
The Company's Northern Irish assets with DS3 uncapped contracts saw a 33%
decrease in revenue compared to the previous financial year. This reduction
was due to the change in Temporal Scarcity Scalars (TSS) and lower wind
generation over the period which led to reduced SNSP values. TSS scalars are
price multipliers that change based on the SNSP and determine revenue for DS3
uncapped contracts. In October 2024, TSS scalars were lowered, which adversely
affected revenue during times of high wind penetration. Porterstown Phase I in
ROI, was not affected by the scalar change as it holds a fixed price DS3
capped contract.
Irish trading revenue increased by 127% during the period, driven by an
increase in average daily Day-Ahead spreads and the decision by the Investment
Manager to increase volumes in wholesale trading. The increase in spreads was
linked to higher volatility associated with more extreme weather conditions;
H2 of the financial year saw periods of high demand due to low temperatures
and storms. Wholesale revenue in FY 24/25 H2 accounted for 77% of the total
annual wholesale revenue. Despite representing only 23% of operational Irish
MW capacity, Porterstown Phase I accounted for 39% of the total Irish
wholesale trading revenue in FY24/25. Porterstown's optimisation strategy
incorporated a higher proportion of wholesale trading and resulted in a 10%
increase in revenue for the asset, compared to the previous financial year.
Porterstown qualified for Steady State Reactive Power (SSRP) in the DS3
uncapped regime, beginning delivery on April 1(st), 2025, providing an
additional revenue stream for the site post-period.
In the T-4 28/29 Capacity Market auction, Mullavilly, Drumkee, and Porterstown
Phase I secured a contract value of £135.31/kW/ year (or €149.96/kW/year)
with a derated capacity of 1.376 MW each for Mullavilly and Drumkee and
2.063 MW for Porterstown Phase I. Post-period, Porterstown Phase I was also
bid into the T-1 auction, with results expected in July 2025. The Investment
Manager continues to systematically bid the assets into the Capacity Market
annually to capture as much of the available revenue as possible.
The Scheduling and Dispatch Programme (SDP) market reform was expected to be
introduced in Q4 of FY24/25 but has since been delayed. The reform will enable
further participation of BESS in trading through higher certainty of dispatch.
EirGrid is also expected to provide further guidance on the Future Arrangement
for System Services (FASS) programme, which will replace the current DS3
Programme with a Day Ahead System Services Auction (DASSA).
German Market
Table 5: Overview of the German Market
TSO 50 Hertz
German Portfolio 22.0 MW / 29.0 MWh
Market Share 1%
Revenue in the German market increased by 48% compared to the previous
financial year, largely driven by a 17% increase in peak solar generation.
Ancillary service pricing increased in line with the higher opportunity cost
for thermal generation which continued to set the price in ancillary services.
Solar generation played a key role in increasing ancillary services and
wholesale trading spreads during the summer, as solar generation peaks
typically lead to suppressed midday pricing. Thermal generators were forced to
compensate for lower energy pricing through higher ancillary services bidding,
leading to increased pricing in ancillary services markets. Frequency
Containment Reserve (FCR), a frequency response ancillary service, saw
clearing prices rise by 51% year-on-year. Additionally, automatic Frequency
Restoration Reserve (aFRR), a service combining capacity and energy
components, experienced a year-on-year increase in acquired volumes of 3% for
aFRR energy and 13% for aFRR capacity, attributable to the greater capacity of
renewable energy on the grid.
Winter 2024/25 saw multiple periods of Dunkelflaute, the German word referring
to a period of low solar irradiation coinciding with low wind speeds. This
drop in renewable energy generation drove increases in wholesale and balancing
prices as marginal thermal generators, typically with higher operational
costs, were required to support the grid. Batteries have also been well placed
to support the grid during these periods and capitalise on higher revenue.
Battery capacity in Germany is expected to nearly double by the end of
FY25/26. Germany has targeted to phase out coal by 2038 and rely more heavily
on wind and solar, creating a need for flexible assets like BESS. As
traditional baseload capacity continues to be decommissioned and dependence on
renewable energy therefore increases, the level of extreme weather events
needed to trigger similar price shifts is likely to decline, which is expected
to lead to heightened volatility in trading spreads in this market.
Cremzow (22 MW/29 MWh), the Company's German asset, began participating in
automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR) in February 2024. aFRR, was a
critical revenue stream for Cremzow in FY24/25. aFRR revenue made up 47% of
total revenue over the period, as increased solar generation created a greater
need for flexible dispatch technologies on the grid.
During the reporting period, Germany amended the Renewable Energy Sources Act
(EEG), passed on January 30th, 2025. This amendment addressed concerns around
renewable energy generators pricing negatively in trading markets due to their
EEG subsidies. This amendment will only apply to new generators and should not
affect existing renewable generation, allowing existing generation to continue
bidding at their opportunity cost, leading to negative pricing in certain
periods, and increasing trading price spreads for batteries. As reported in
the Investment Manager's half year report, the German government continues to
consider the introduction of a Capacity Market in Germany. In August 2024,
Germany launched a consultation for the potential Capacity Market design. The
consultation pointed to 2028 as the likely start date for the Capacity Market.
This market, which is widely expected to include BESS participation, would
bring a source of contracted revenue to German BESS.
Texas Market (US)
Table 6: Overview of the Texas Market
TSO ERCOT
Texas Portfolio (energised) 104.9 MW / 134.7 MWh
Market Share 3%
In Texas, revenue has historically been driven by periods of high demand on
the power grid and limited generation capacity, leading to increased energy
prices and reserve costs. The summer months have historically generated the
most revenue for BESS assets, as rising temperatures elevate demand on the
grid. Prolonged high temperatures can also decrease the availability of
generation resources, putting additional strain on the grid and increasing
energy costs. BESS assets are well-positioned to deliver under these
conditions due to their high resilience.
In a notable deviation from this trend, the summer of 2024 experienced milder
conditions, with lower peak temperatures compared to previous years, despite
elevated average temperatures largely influenced by elevated nighttime
readings. This resulted in a reduction of over 2 GW in daily average peak load
compared to the previous calendar year. Additionally, an increase in renewable
energy output during this period alleviated grid constraints. As a result, the
Company's Texas portfolio revenue fell by 75% year-on-year, despite
outperforming the Modo market index by 32%. Ancillary service revenue also
declined significantly throughout the reporting period, predominantly due to
higher battery participation in these services, and lower opportunity in
trading markets. BESS have a low opportunity cost of service delivery, and can
have low bid prices, undercutting thermal generation which historically
provided ancillary services.
During the reporting period, the Investment Manager lifted certain trading
restrictions on the portfolio to allow further participation in wholesale
markets. This decision reflected the higher wholesale opportunity relative to
ancillary services, as energy prices transitioned towards two daily peaks
during the winter months. In Q1 FY24/25 the Texan portfolio earned 20% of
total revenue from trading, which subsequently rose to account for c.99% of
total revenue in Q4 FY24/25(3). The operational assets are located in the
West Hub of Texas which allows them to capture higher trading revenue. Due to
the significant development of renewable infrastructure assets in this region,
the sites benefit from a premium to average ERCOT prices.
Saturated ancillary service market prices followed cyclical trends in other
markets where the Company is active. This cyclical pattern is underpinned by
a progressive increase in ancillary service demand, driven by increased grid
load and renewable energy production, and reduced annual battery build out.
FY24/25 showed less lucrative summer conditions, but improved revenue towards
the end of the reporting period. Grid load continued to grow in Texas and is
currently forecasted to increase by 9% in 2026, and by 67% by 2031 relative to
2025(4).
Additionally, solar and wind represented a growing proportion of generation in
FY24/25, representing 35% of total generation in comparison to 31% in the
previous year. A large portion of this growth is attributable to a 47%
increase in solar energy generated in FY24/25 compared to the previous year.
Dogfish has been qualified to participate in all available ancillary services
and energy markets in ERCOT. Dogfish is the portfolio's largest asset in
Texas, 75 MW / 75 MWh.
3 This excludes liquidated damages.
4 Source: ERCOT
Californian Market (US)
Table 7: Overview of the Californian Market
TSO CAISO
Californian Portfolio (energised) 200 MW/ 400 MWh
Market Share 2%
The California Independent System Operator, CAISO, covers c.80% of
California's grid. California is an established market for batteries, with
over 13.2 GW operational in the market. CAISO has a significant build out of
solar energy generation, reporting peaks of 19.65 GW during the period in the
Summer 2024, an increase of 22% on the previous year. In 2024, 51.8% of the
peak demand was served by renewables.
CAISO's large solar deployment has led to significant ramps in generation from
other power sources during solar "ramp down" in evenings, described as a
"Duck-Curve". More broadly, the "duck curve" characterises the discrepancy
between peak solar generation (around midday and early afternoon) and peak
electricity demand (early morning and evenings). Batteries are well placed to
provide flexibility during these periods, typically charging during periods of
peak solar generation, and dispatching during periods of constraints created
by the solar "ramp down" in generation. These large ramps create energy price
volatility, increasing the availability of spreads available to BESS for
trading.
Batteries in CAISO can also benefit from Resource Adequacy (RA) contracts. RA
contracts are bilateral capacity contracts which large pools of demand known
as Load Serving Entities (LSEs) have to secure to ensure adequate capacity is
operating on the grid to match their demand.
The RA contract secured for Big Rock is a fixed-price contract for 100 MW/400
MWh, worth $14 million annually for a duration of 12 years. RA contracts are
stackable, meaning that the asset can participate in other revenue streams
simultaneously such as energy trading, ancillary services, and reserves,
similar to capacity market contracts in GB.
Table 8: Available Revenue Streams for the Big Rock Asset
Service Type Characteristics
Resource Adequacy Contracted Used to ensure stable and reliable capacity is available to the grid when
needed by agreeing long-term contracts.
Day Ahead & Real Time trading Merchant The trade of energy between generators and suppliers.
Regulation Service Up & Down Merchant Continuously corrects minor frequency deviations pre-fault.
Non-Spinning Reserve Service Merchant Provides additional dispatchable capacity when real-time reserves are low
manually. This capacity will be ramped to a specific load requirement within
10 minutes.
Spinning Reserve Service Merchant This service is provided by standby capacity from generation units already
connected or synchronised to the grid and that can deliver their energy in 10
minutes when dispatched.
Overall Portfolio Performance
The portfolio generated £35.3m in revenue with weighted annualised revenue of
c.£9.85 /MW/hr.
Table 9: Overall Portfolio Performance for FY24/25(5)
£(000's) % within grid
Great Britain - 239.5 MW / 230.8 MWh
Ancillary Services 8,660 59%
Capacity Market 2,350 16%
Wholesale Trading 1,730 12%
Other 1,930 13%
Total 14,670 100%
Island of Ireland - 130.0 MW / 72.6 MWh
Ancillary Services 14,370 87%
Capacity Market 1,410 9%
Wholesale Trading 720 4%
Other 40 0%
Total 16,540 100%
Germany - 22.0 MW / 29.0 MWh
Ancillary Services 2,060 79%
Wholesale Trading 540 21%
Other - 0%
Total 2,600 100%
Texas - 29.85 MW / 59.7 MWh
Ancillary Services 630 43%
Wholesale Trading 740 51%
Other 100 6%
Total 1,470 100%
Portfolio Total - 421.4 MW / 392.1 MWh 35,280
Market Revenue £(000's)/ £/MW/hr £(000's)/ £/MWh/hr
£(000's) MW/yr MWh/yr
Great Britain 14,670 65 7.37 67 7.67
Island of Ireland 16,540 127 14.52 228 26.00
Germany 2,600 118 13.52 90 10.25
Texas 1,470 49 5.61 25 2.81
Weighted Average 86 9.85 93 10.61
Total Revenue £(000's) Jun-end 2024 Sep-end 2024 Dec-end 2024 Mar-end 2025
Great Britain 2,560 4,670 2,900 4,540
Island of Ireland 3,830 3,900 4,170 4,640
Germany 790 800 550 460
Texas 620 300 230 320
Total Revenue 7,800 9,670 7,850 9,960
Operational Capacity (MW) 371.5 421.4 421.4 421.4
5 Please note values are rounded to the nearest £10,000
Asset Performance
Fleetwide weighted availability exceeded 95% across the reporting period.
Great Britain (GB):
The GB portfolio performed consistently, with 95% availability achieved.
Despite early operations Stony and Ferrymuir achieved 98% and 99% average
availability, respectively. The older assets represented the lowest
availability values in the fleet, but these impacts have been mitigated by
proactive engagement of O&M providers and regular interactions by the
Investment Manager.
Island of Ireland:
As with previous years, availability performance in the Island of Ireland
remained a highlight, with 99% achieved across the three assets. Consistent
with the last two financial years, all DS3 events were responded to correctly
and the projects continued to generate revenue from these services without
penalties.
Germany:
During the reporting period, availability of 91% was achieved for the Cremzow
asset. This 22 MW site comprises a 2 MW "trial" site and a 20 MW "expansion"
site. This availability shortfall was predominantly driven by equipment
failures with the 2 MW "trial" site. The Investment Manager continues to work
with equipment suppliers and O&M personnel to identify means to improve
this performance cost-effectively.
Texas:
These projects continue to demonstrate mixed performance, with availability of
85% achieved over the year, significantly driven by outages at Snyder. These
outages are mostly caused by inverter failures, whilst battery modules and
their ancillary equipment performed well. Post-period, the Dogfish asset, 75
MW / 75 MWh became operational, and is therefore not included in these
figures. The Investment Manager has developed new relationships for further
support, which will be leveraged in advance of high-revenue events.
Asset Management Developments
The Investment Manager's approach to data driven asset management remains a
differentiating factor for portfolio performance and is a key opportunity for
the fleet. Over the reporting period, the relationship with a battery
analytics software platform was developed further and many projects onboarded
to their platform, materially improving the overall safety profile of the
fleet by having 24/7 advanced monitoring and daily indications for each
onboarded project's state of safety. Additionally, a framework agreement was
executed with another software platform and facilitates a standardised
approach to capturing project data and visualising it in the cloud. The
Investment Manager is currently developing a cloud-based platform to
facilitate asset visibility, monitoring and alerting, which aims to deliver
material improvements to project operations in terms of risk and availability.
Development and Pre-construction Assets
The Company continues to complete value-add works to the 494.8 MW of
pre-construction assets held across multiple grids. The Company retains
optionality over value realisation of these projects.
Table 10: Development and Pre-Construction Assets (Capacity and Grid)
Pre-Construction Assets Capacity Grid (Geography)
Kilmannock I 30 MW EirGrid/Soni (Republic of Ireland)
Kilmannock II 90 MW EirGrid/Soni (Republic of Ireland)
Mucklagh 75 MW EirGrid/Soni (Republic of Ireland)
Middleton 200 MW NESO (GB)
Wichita Falls 9.95 MW ERCOT (Texas, US)
Mesquite 9.95 MW ERCOT (Texas, US)
Mineral Wells 9.95 MW ERCOT (Texas, US)
Cedar Hill 9.95 MW ERCOT (Texas, US)
Porterstown II 60 MW EirGrid/Soni (Republic of Ireland)
Capital Allocation
Independent Review
Given the persistent valuation disconnect in the Company's share price, the
Board appointed an advisor to review the Company and support with an
evaluation of the best routes forward for maximising shareholder value while
ensuring the Company remains resilient and well-positioned.
The scope of the review is broad, exploring M&A, debt repayment, and
growth options, including the rationalisation of the asset base to free up
capital to pursue asset enhancement as well as further build out of the
pipeline. The review looked at opportunities to optimise trading as well as
alternative revenue structures such as cap and floor or tolling contracts.
This process is ongoing but preliminary results identify several actionable
opportunities. For example, given the rapid decline in capex and the
increasingly trading dominant GB market the augmenting of selected GB assets
with additional capacity (from 1 to 2-hour systems) has been identified.
The Company expects to augment three GB assets: Stony (79.9 MW) and Ferrymuir
(49.9 MW), followed by Enderby (57 MW). These sites were selected based on
their modular, modern design, which allows for relatively quick upgrade times
and limited downtime of the existing MWhs, thereby minimising disruption to
revenue generation while enhancing long-term returns.
Further outcomes from the independent review will be communicated in due
course.
Special Dividends
In addition to the declared 1.0 pence per share for the quarter ended 31 March
2025, once the proceeds from the sale of Big Rock Investment Tax Credits
(ITCs) are available to distribute, the Board intends to declare a special
dividend of an additional 3.0 pence per share.
Under the terms of the agreement, Big Rock's proceeds have been structured to
be monetised in tranches. The Company has received 50% of the Big Rock's ITC,
with the next 25% of proceeds to be received by Autumn 2025 and the balance by
the end of the current calendar year. The first tranche will be used to reduce
the amount drawn on the Big Rock debt facility from $90 million to $60 million
and also fund reserves to cover the settlement of project build-out costs for
Big Rock. This will result in lowering the Company's gearing and associated
borrowing costs.
Upon availability of the remaining proceeds, the Board intends to distribute
3.0 pence per share by way of special dividends in two equal instalments of
1.5 pence per share, to be paid by the end of the calendar year.
Debt Position
The Company and its investments ended the year with £30.5 million in
available cash and £56.3 million in undrawn debt headroom. Total debt drawn
on a look-through basis (referring to both company-level and asset-level
borrowings) was £112.6 million. During the year, the Company upsized its
revolving credit facility to £100 The Company expects to be in line with the
previously guided a GAV ratio of 15-20% for the completion of the prioritised
portfolio.
Dividend Policy
The Board has reviewed the Company's capital allocation priorities in the
context of its operational progress and financial position. From the second
quarter of the financial year, the Board intends to pay a quarterly dividend
of 0.75 pence per share, with the first payment expected in respect of the
quarter ending 30 September 2025.
This level of distribution is underpinned by a weighted average operational
capacity of c.600MW during FY26 and is based on a revenue assumption that
reflects the portfolio average achieved over the 12 months to 31 March 2025,
as well as the Resource Adequacy price, and the latest market view for the
merchant revenue from Big Rock. The 2026/27 financial year will see the
portfolio's full prioritised capacity generating revenue for the whole period,
providing further potential for growth in free cash flow and distributions.
As previously announced, a special dividend of 3.0 pence per share is expected
to be paid towards the end of the calendar year, reflecting the monetisation
of the Big Rock ITC. In light of this, no additional dividend will be declared
in respect of the quarter ending 30 June 2025.
While FY26 represents a bridging year for the Company, the Board expects the
dividend to step up to a minimum annual target of 3 pence per share as the
portfolio reaches full run-rate capacity. The upcoming strategy update will
inform the long-term dividend policy from FY27 onwards, ensuring that
distributions remain aligned with the Company's scale, market conditions, and
capital allocation priorities.
The Board remains committed to a disciplined and transparent approach to
shareholder returns. Dividends will be paid from free cash flow, subject to
prudent reserves and compliance with debt covenants.
Q&A with Sumi Arima
Sumi Arima
CIO and CFO of Gore Street Investment Management, the Investment Manager
Q: What were the key milestones reached in the 2025 fiscal year?
At the start of the financial year, the Investment Manager set four key goals:
i) energisation of the Big Rock asset (200 MW / 400 MWh),
ii) energisation of the Dogfish asset (75 MW/75 MWh),
iii) energisation of the Enderby asset (57 MW/57 MWh),
iv) securing a Resource Adequacy (RA) contract for the Big Rock asset.
Increased Energised Capacity
Three of these goals were the energisation of the remaining in-construction
assets, Big Rock, Dogfish and Enderby, with a combined capacity of 332 MW/ 532
MWh, an increase of 79% in energised capacity (on a MW basis). Energisation is
a crucial milestone, marking the completion of construction and significantly
reducing the risk profile of an asset. Energisation is particularly important
as it mitigates the risk of delays from grid operators-factors that can be
beyond direct control. The energised portfolio is internationally diversified
with 61% of the portfolio based outside of GB (on a MW basis).
High-value Long-term Contracts
The Resource Adequacy contract for the Big Rock asset was secured in October
2024. This is a fixed-price contract, worth over $14 million annually, with a
duration of 12 years, and marks a substantial achievement for the largest
asset in the Company's portfolio. This contract is fully stackable, allowing
for concurrent revenue streams across wholesale trading and ancillary
services.
The RA programme in California aims to ensure sufficient generation resources
are available to meet the energy system's supply requirements. The RA
programme requires load-serving entities to demonstrate they have secured
enough generation capacity through RA contracts to cover their forecasted peak
demand plus a reserve margin. This includes physical resources like energy
storage to ensure flexibility and reliability in the power supply. The RA
contract requires a minimum duration of 4 hours. Therefore, the Company's Big
Rock asset will utilise 100 MW of RA deliverability.
The RA contract is similar to capacity market contracts in GB, in that it is
fully stackable simultaneously with other revenue streams. Due to the
long-term fixed-price nature of the contract, it also supports securing
project-level debt.
Monetisation of Investment Tax Credits
Post-period, the total consideration net of insurance costs for the Investment
Tax Credits associated with both US assets was c.$84 million, exceeding the
previously guided range. This outcome reflects the strong commercial terms
achieved. The proceeds from the sale of Dogfish's ITCs have already been
received. Proceeds from the Big Rock ITC sale will be received in three
tranches (50%, 25%, 25%), with the first 50% portion received as at the date
of publication.
Q: What is an Optimiser?
An optimiser seeks to optimise an asset's revenue stack; this entails, i)
operating the site, and ii) reporting on revenue. The optimal strategy for
each asset is dependent on a range of factors, such as existing contracts,
location, warranty agreements and duration. This complexity rewards those
asset owners with a greater understanding of the broader market structure and
the intricacies of the asset.
As the Company's portfolio has increased in capacity, the Investment Manager
has placed greater emphasis on its commercial strategy. By internalising
optimisation of assets, greater synergy between the different technical
functions is achieved, particularly with respect to asset management.
Communication between these entities enables better decision making around
commercial trade-offs and proving more emphasis on safety and long-term asset
health, which is critical for the Company, given the "buy and hold" strategy.
Furthermore, the Investment Manager, as a first mover in multiple markets, has
recognised that as markets evolve, it becomes more critical to be dynamic and
adapt to current market conditions to maximise revenue.
Q: How much of the Company's GB portfolio is managed by Gore Street Energy
Trading?
The Investment Manager has developed an optimisation capability, Gore Street
Energy Trading (GSET). The GSET portfolio makes up 68% of the Company's
operational GB portfolio on a MW basis (detailed in table 11).
Table 11: Summary of Assets Optimised by GSET
Commencement of
Asset Capacity GSET Optimisation
Port of Tilbury 9 MW / 4.5 MWh October 2024
Breach 10 MW / 10.0 MWh November 2024
Larport 19.5 MW / 19.5 MWh November 2024
Hulley 20 MW / 20 MW December 2024
Lascar 20 MW/ 20 MW December 2024
Cenin 4 MW/ 4.8 MWh April 2025
Stony 79.9 MW / 79.9 MWh April 2025
Total as of April 2025 162.4 MW / 158.7 MWh
Q: What is GSET's optimisation strategy?
The cornerstone of GSET's optimisation offering is its bespoke optimisation
software. Developed entirely by the GSET team and solely focused on storage
assets, the system frequently brings in market data, reforecasts key market
metrics, and re-optimises the assets in real time, each one according to its
individual characteristics, instantly responding to changes in market
conditions and thereby increasing asset revenue and reducing asset cycling.
GSET applies a range of techniques, depending on the specific forecast,
including fundamental modelling, multi-variate regressions, and neural
networks. The forecasting models are regularly and thoroughly backtested and
tuned, but also remain agile, and quick to run, enabling GSET to respond to
changing conditions without lag.
Alongside forecasting, the strategy aims to capitalise on the volatility
inherent in the GB power markets by maintaining a diverse basket of revenue
opportunities at any point in time. GSET actively considers all markets
available to the assets and allocates capacity to the areas which have the
best risk / reward characteristics at any given time. Being able to balance
each of these opportunities requires a full understanding of the requirements
for each service, the trade-offs between them, and the capabilities of the
Company's assets - something GSET software has been designed to optimise.
An illustrative day for GSET includes managing an asset's state of charge
(SOC) whilst delivering an optimisation strategy among other variables, as
highlighted in Figure 8 in the 2025 Annual Report. SOC management is critical
for BESS as it directly impacts efficiency, safety, lifetime, and revenue
generation of the asset. If there is insufficient SOC whilst bidding into a
particular service, an optimiser can be penalised.
Q: How has the GSET portfolio performed?
The portion of the GB portfolio managed commercially by GSET was benchmarked
against the Modo 1-hour benchmark from December 2024 to March 2025. During
this timeframe, the GSET-managed GB portfolio exceeded the benchmark by 11%,
underscoring the significant advantages of active management and tailored
trading strategies. While it's still early in GSET's journey, these results
are very promising. We will continue to assess GSET's performance across
various metrics, including comparisons with other third-party optimisers in GB
and relevant benchmarks.
Q: How have capex prices changed over the reporting period?
As highlighted in the FY23/24 Annual Report, lithium-ion battery prices have
dropped significantly, by 20% from 2023 to 2024. While reductions in capital
expenditure costs are commonplace in the renewable sector, the extent of the
decreases in BESS has been exceptional. Factors including oversupply, easing
commodity prices, and technological advancements continue to drive this trend.
Among the various components, battery packs are witnessing the most rapid
decrease in capex, as highlighted in the graph below, primarily due to a
substantial drop in raw materials, particularly lithium, which is currently
75% lower than its peak in 2022. This decline is further compounded by
aggressive pricing strategies from leading battery manufacturers, which
command a significant share of the supply chain.
This reduction in capex underscores the strategy of tailored asset design and
duration in each geography. The Company's asset durations range from 26
minutes to 4 hours, addressing the varying demands for ancillary services and
resource adequacy in regions such as Northern Ireland and California,
respectively. By sizing assets appropriately to the prevailing market
opportunity, the Company is also able to capture this falling capex trend by
retrofitting assets.
Q: In what other ways is the Investment Manager leveraging data to improve
operations?
The Investment Manager has been developing a platform to integrate data from
the majority of the Company's portfolio, providing security of data
availability and enabling improved operational processes and analytics
capabilities across the fleet.
Ongoing development efforts include automated asset monitoring processes,
alerting features to reduce response time to system failures and improve asset
availability, and mitigating risks associated with system overuse or warranty
mismanagement. The platform is also expected to support predictive maintenance
capabilities and facilitate in-depth data analysis, ultimately driving
continuous improvement in decisions made across all projects and supporting
improved operations of third parties. These measures will further support
efforts to maintain long-term health of the assets, minimise downtime and
ultimately improve returns. An example benefit could be the live tracking of
warranties, alerting optimisers to avoid conditions that would void contracts.
This is a continuation of the market-leading technical strategy to maximise
the value from the portfolio. Alongside the experience to develop the in-house
platform, the Investment Manager's in-house capabilities for technical and
commercial management uniquely enable holistic operational performance
improvements best aligned with operational objectives of the Company.
NAV Overview and Drivers
Table 12: NAV Bridge
In (£) millions Pence/share
NAV March 2024 541 107.0
Dividends (28) (5.5)
Revenue Curves (31) (6.1)
Inflation (5) (1.0)
Derisking of Assets 16 3.2
Net Portfolio Returns 26 5.2
NAV March 2025 519 102.8
Table 13: Reconciliation of Reported NAV
2025 2024
Operational & Energised Portfolio 510,871,000 233,151,000
Construction Portfolio 40,604,000 259,398,000
Fair Value of Portfolio 551,474,000 492,549,000
Group Cash 30,465,000 65,168,000
Other Net Assets/(Liabilities) (62,645,000) (17,021,000)
NAV 519,294,000 540,697,000
Aggregate Group Debt 112,565,000 37,345,000
GAV 631,859,000 578,042,000
The Company's independent valuer, BDO, conducted a valuation as of 31 March
2025, which included a review of the key valuation assumptions. BDO's findings
were consistent with the Company's valuations and the key assumptions used to
determine the Company's Net Asset Value (NAV).
Macroeconomic factors were the primary drivers of the Company's NAV over the
reporting period. Updated third-party revenue curves resulted in a negative
NAV impact of 6.1 pence per share. Updated inflation assumptions had a further
1.0 pence per share negative impact on NAV.
Net portfolio returns, which include cash generation from the operational
portfolio, secured pricing for the Resource Adequacy contract net of
Company-level costs, which resulted in a net positive 5.2 pence per share
impact on NAV. An itemised breakdown is provided below:
1. Revenue Curves (-6.1 pence):
In line with the Company's valuation methodology, a blended average mid-case
scenario sourced from multiple research houses was used where available, to
give a more balanced view on future revenue generation.
The forecasts for Great Britain and Ireland indicated a short-term decrease in
commodity prices, further affected by the increased capacity from new
interconnectors coming online. In Northern Ireland, the negative effect of the
reduction of the SNSP scalars against the positive effect of the expected
extension of the DS3 period until the end of 2026 as of the valuation date had
a net neutral effect. In Germany, the updated revenue forecast accounted for a
decrease in aFRR availability.
The US revenue forecasts saw a decline in line with the recent reduction seen
in the market, which was largely driven by gas prices.
2. Inflation (-1.0 pence):
Updated inflation assumptions resulted in a net decrease of 1.0 pence per
share. Short-term inflation assumptions for the portfolio were revised to
reflect actual inflation figures for 2024 and projections for 2025, consistent
with persistent core inflation trends globally. Long-term inflation
assumptions from 2026 onwards remain unchanged from those presented in the
Company's Half-Year Report for the period ended 30 September 2024.
Table 14: Inflation Assumptions
Inflation Assumptions 2024 2025 2026+
GB 2.50% 3.30% 2.50%
EUR 2.43% 2.30% 2.25%
US 2.89% 2.90% 2.25%
3. Derisking of Assets (+3.2 pence):
De-risking of assets in line with their respective construction progress
resulted in a positive NAV impact of 3.2 pence per share. The discount rates
of Ferrymuir, Stony, Enderby, Dogfish and Big Rock were reduced, reflecting
their respective construction progress. The discount rates used in the
valuations were as follows:
Table 15: Discount Rate Matrix(10)
Pre-construction Energised
Discount Rate Matrix phase phase
Contracted Income 10.75-12.00% 7.25-9.25%
Uncontracted Income 10.75-12.00% 8.75-9.50%
MW 494.8 753.4
The weighted average discount rate applied to the portfolio as at 31 March
2025 was 10.2%, in line with the March-end 2024 valuation, as the discount
rates for pre-construction assets were increased bringing the assets in line
with cost. This impact was netted off against the reduction for the energised
assets.
Net Portfolio Returns (+5.2 pence)
• Cash Generation (4.3 pence): This refers to the cash
generation of the underlying portfolio.
• Fund and Subsidiary Holding Companies Operating Expenses
(-2.7 pence): This refers to the expenses at the fund level including debt
service cost of £2.4m.
• Resource Adequacy Contract (3.0 pence): The secured pricing
exceeded the estimate used in the Company's previous year-end valuations,
resulting in a positive impact on NAV.
• Other DCF Adjustments and Rollover (0.6 pence): This refers
to items such as updated battery cell costs for repowering, decreases in capex
forecast due to lower lithium cell pricing, and rollover (being one less
period of discounting). Discount rates increased for the pre-construction
assets bringing the assets in line with cost, as noted above.
Table 16: Fair Value (FV) breakdown by Grid(11)
FV Breakdown by Grid £ mn
Great Britain 194.1
Ireland 83.8
Germany 13.2
Texas 75.1
California 181.1
NAV Sensitivities and Scenarios
Sensitivities
To assess the impact of macroeconomic factors and key valuation assumptions on
the portfolio's NAV, the Company provides the below sensitivities. The
following sensitivities were applied:
a. Inflation rate: +/- 1.0%
b. FX volatility: +/- 3.0%
c. Discount rate: +/- 1.0%
d. EPC costs +/- 10.0%
6 Porterstown uses blended discount rates across energised (Phase I)
and pre-construction (Phase II) phases. MW capacity numbers for
pre-construction phase include assets held at book value.
7 Excludes pre-construction assets at book value.
Scenarios
Various scenarios have been considered to assess the impact on portfolio
valuations.
a. Revenue Scenarios: NAV based on third-party high & low cases
reflecting the impact of different possibilities relating to renewables
buildout, increase in energy demand and other factors such as regulations. The
application of high case revenues results in a £108m increase while the low
case revenues result in a decrease of £124.5m in NAV.
b. Valuation of construction portfolio using operational discount
rates reflects the upside available to the NAV from the progression of
non-operational assets moving forward to their respective CODs. This results
in a £73.4m increase in NAV.
Message from Alex O' Cinneide
Dr Alex O'Cinneide
CEO of Gore Street Investment Management, the Investment Manager
This has been a landmark year for the Company, defined by increased scale,
delivery and innovation. We have more than doubled our operational portfolio
capacity, reaching nearly 1 GWh across five energy systems. We have secured
$165 million in long-term contracted revenue and have strengthened the cash
position with additional funding from two high-quality lenders and
monetisation of all Investment Tax Credits for the Company's recently
energised US assets. Going forward this increase in revenue-generating
capacity will be complemented by a declining cost base, supported by a revised
fee structure based on market capitalisation and net asset value. Our
diversified strategy and active approach has ensured that we continue to
generate best-in-class revenue.
Our internal, purpose-built platform spanning investment, procurement, asset
management, and trading is a specialisation that has unlocked international
expansion and gives us excellent growth opportunities across the portfolio.
While others have focused on limiting the lowest bounds of their revenue
generation, we have focused on achieving the highest revenue across the
sector. To further support this, we have developed a bespoke AI-driven
optimisation platform, uniquely specialised for BESS assets, which has yielded
double-digit outperformance against industry benchmarks.
As the global energy transition accelerates, our diversified, data-driven, and
disciplined approach ensures that we remain at the forefront of the
utility-scale BESS sector.
Technology-Led: Next Generation Asset Management
Our technology-driven approach to asset management is a cornerstone of our
operational strategy; designed in-house to deliver real-time visibility,
predictive insights and performance optimisation across the fleet. Over the
past year, we have significantly advanced this capability. We have integrated
with a leading battery analytics platform, enabling 24/7 monitoring and daily
safety diagnostics across onboarded projects. This has materially improved the
safety profile of the fleet, with early warning and state-of-the-art safety
indicators now embedded into daily operations. In parallel, we have executed a
framework agreement with a second platform to standardise data capture and
visualisation across all assets, ensuring consistency and comparability at
scale.
At the heart of this is our bespoke, cloud-based platform, which is currently
under development. This will bring asset visibility, monitoring and alerting
in a single interface. The system is designed to support automated monitoring,
predictive maintenance and real-time alerting. It enables us to manage risk
more effectively, reduce downtime, improve availability across a
geographically and technologically diverse portfolio and make informed
decisions about who we choose to work and have ongoing partnerships with. In
addition, this sophisticated approach to asset management has been recognised
and has resulted in a material reduction in insurance premiums. As we continue
to scale, this system will be key to maintaining our >95% availability with
an approach to safety that reduces premiums and ensures every megawatt under
our management is optimally maintained and exploited.
GSET: A Proprietary Trading Platform Designed to Perform
Gore Street Energy Trading (GSET) is our in-house optimisation platform; it is
purpose-built for battery storage and engineered to outperform. Unlike
third-party tolling or floor structures, GSET is fully owned and operated by
Gore Street, giving us complete control over strategy, execution and
ultimately profitability. The platform is built on a proprietary software
stack that includes neural networks, multivariate regressions, and fundamental
forecasting models. These models are continuously back-tested and tuned to
reflect market dynamics, enabling real-time re-optimisation of assets based on
price signals and the asset's state of charge, as well as risk-adjusted return
profiles.
It is this dynamic capability to optimise across the full range of ancillary
services, wholesale trading, and the balancing mechanism that has driven the
outperformance of our software, exploiting both positive and negative pricing
periods, and the profit-maximising approach based on often-overlooked
asset-specific factors such as degradation and warranty considerations. Since
its launch, GSET has consistently outperformed the Modo benchmark and now
manages 68% of the Company's GB portfolio. The platform is built to cover all
markets in which the Company operates, with the onboarding of some of the
Company's assets in Texas expected in the near term.
The GB market averaged c.£72,400/MW/yr, this is materially lower than the
Company's GSET managed portfolio, which achieved c.£81,900/MW/yr on an
annualised basis (inclusive of capacity market contracts for the period from
December 2024- March 2025 to account for GSET's onboarding schedule),
re-emphasising the value of internally managing assets. Internalising
optimisation is critical to this asset class, unlocking specialist commercial
strategies to maximise revenue while considering the long-term performance of
the asset. A range of management approaches are seen across the sector,
especially seen in the approach to the stacking of both contracted and
merchant revenue streams. The value from energy storage assets is multifold,
providing grid security, and stabilising services, all of which support the
increasing intermittency associated with renewable penetration. As an active
manager, capturing this volatility is fundamental to unlocking superior
returns.
Declining Capex: A Structural Tailwind for Growth
The sector is undergoing a structural reset in capex costs, driven by a
convergence of oversupply, falling commodity prices, and rapid technological
advancements. Lithium prices, for instance, are now 75% below their 2022 peak,
and battery pack costs declined a further 20% between 2023 and 2024 alone.
This has had a dramatic effect on project economics. Until recently,
longer-duration systems in key markets, such as GB, were prohibitively
expensive to enhance returns. However, the declining trend now enables the
development of longer duration systems at a lower marginal cost.
This capex trend is not just a cost reduction; it is also a tailwind for
growth. As the cost of incremental capacity decreases at an unprecedented
rate, our ability to retrofit existing assets and deploy capital into
lucrative and portfolio-accretive opportunities increases. It also reinforces
the effectiveness of our disciplined approach to procurement and construction,
where we continue to monitor pricing windows and optimise timing and duration.
In an asset class that is fundamentally merchant, cost control is a critical
return-defining lever. Given our access to data, and our active approach, I am
confident we will continue to lead across both cost and revenue generation.
Outlook: Scaling Intelligently with a Focus on Cost and Revenue Optimisation
Looking ahead, our strategy is clear: scale intelligently and optimise across
both costs and revenue across the portfolio. We continue to take a range of
steps to ensure prudent financial performance year-on-year across the
lifecycle of an investment. We continually monitor battery prices closely to
determine the optimal windows for both augmenting and repowering the portfolio
to appropriate durations, given the market opportunities. Following the
special dividend and debt repayment, the remaining proceeds from the sale of
the ITCs could be used to retrofit assets in GB, such as the largest and
newest assets, prioritising i) Stony, ii) Ferrymuir and later followed by iii)
Enderby to a 2-hour duration to more closely align the portfolio with the
increased trading strategy seen in the market. Other growth opportunities
include retrofitting assets in Ireland or building out the remaining portfolio
of 494.8 MW of pre-construction assets. These assets provide optionality in
terms of value-realisation, allowing us to respond to market conditions and
regulatory developments.
While this has undoubtedly been a challenging period for shareholders - a
sentiment I share both personally and now through a revised market cap-based
fee structure - it is important to recognise the broader context. While listed
markets may currently undervalue certain asset classes, private market demand
for energy storage remains robust. Within the relatively small sub-sector of
energy storage investment trusts, we have seen utilities, private funds, US
pensions, and global banks, all seeking exposure to this asset class.
Crucially, these investors are not only allocating capital but are doing so at
valuations that support the underlying NAVs.
Against this backdrop, the Investment Manager has delivered against every
major commitment set out to investors: the energisation of Big Rock, Dogfish,
and Enderby; the securing of a long-term Resource Adequacy Contract; and the
monetisation of all investment tax credits. As we look ahead, we remain
focused on executing against our mandate, to scale intelligently, manage risk
appropriately and ultimately deliver long-term value for shareholders.
Risk Management and Internal Control
The Board is responsible for the Company's system of risk management and
internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. The Board has adopted a
detailed matrix of principal risks affecting the Company's business as an
investment trust and has established associated policies and processes
designed to manage and, where possible, mitigate those risks, which are
monitored by the audit committee on an ongoing basis. This system assists the
Board in determining the nature and extent of the risks it is willing to take
in achieving the Company's strategic objectives. The Board also receives
reporting on the financial, operational, reporting and compliance controls.
Both the principal risks and the monitoring system are subject to robust
review at least annually. The last review took place in July 2025.
Although the Board believes that it has a robust framework of internal
controls in place this can provide only reasonable, and not absolute,
assurance against material financial misstatement or loss and is designed to
manage, not eliminate, risk.
Actions taken by the Board and, where appropriate, its committees, to manage
and mitigate the Company's principal risks and uncertainties are set out in
the table below.
*The "Change" column on the right highlights at a glance the Board's
assessment of any increases or decreases in risk during the year after
mitigation and management. The arrows show the risks as increased or
decreased.
EMERGING RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
During the year, the Board also received reporting on potential emerging risks
and discussed and monitored risks that could potentially impact the Company's
ability to meet its strategic objectives. Political risk which includes
regulatory, fiscal and legal changes impacting strategy, and potential changes
to national and cross-border energy policy, as well as the application of
trade tariffs, was assessed to be a matter to keep under consideration.
The Board has determined they are not currently sufficiently material for the
Company to be categorised as independent principal risks. The Board receives
updates from the Manager, Company Secretary and other service providers on
other potential risks that could affect the Company. The Board also considered
the uncertainties caused by an uncertain economic outlook, volatile energy
prices and the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran, although they are not
factors which explicitly impacted the Company's performance.
PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
Risk Description Mitigation and Management Change*
Changes to Market Design The Company's assets generate revenue by delivering balancing services to The Company has assets in five grids to mitigate the impact of one grid's ó
power grid operators in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Texas and changes.
California. There is a risk in any of those markets that unanticipated changes
to the design of the grid, power system services or any change in the In addition, the Manager aims to stack revenue contracts to vary the types of
specifications and requirements for service delivery (including network income streams received from each system operator and within each market to
charges or changes to market rules) could negatively impact cash flow or mitigate against revenue risk.
constrain revenue projections for assets within the region in which a change
occurs and thereby reduce the net asset value of the affected assets.
Inflation The Company's profit projections are based in part on its budget for capital The Company ensures that it generates revenues in the markets in which it ó
and operating expenditure incurred in the construction, operation, and incurs operating costs from a diverse mix of short, medium and long-term
maintenance of its portfolio of battery storage assets. These include, amongst contracts that are subject to fixed or floating contract prices.
other things, the cost of battery cells, inverters, the cost of power required
to charge the batteries and the labour costs for operations. As revenues are pegged to operating expenditure, the Company shall aim to
neutralise inflationary increases (e.g., cost of power to charge the
There is a risk that unanticipated inflation will increase capital expenditure batteries) by rebalancing its revenue services (e.g., changing the timing or
and operating costs materially beyond budget, without a commensurate impact on bases for charging batteries to either reduce costs or increase revenues) as
revenues, with the consequence of reducing profitability below the investment appropriate to maintain its investment forecast. The long-term Capacity Market
forecast and/or rendering projects less economic or uneconomic. contracts of up to 15 years are index linked.
There is also a risk that continued or severe inflation could positively
and/or negatively change the grid power market design (see Changes to Market
Design above).
The Company has little exposure to debt financing but has access to debt
facilities. There is a risk that increases in the inflationary index rates
could render the interest rates applicable to these debt facilities less
economic or uneconomic.
Exposure to Lithium-Ion Batteries, Battery Manufacturers and technology The portfolio currently consists only of lithium-ion batteries. The Group's The Company remains technology agnostic and continues to evaluate other ó
changes battery energy storage systems are designed by a variety of EPC providers, but economically viable energy storage opportunities to reduce its exposure to
the underlying lithium-ion batteries are manufactured primarily by BYD, CATL lithium-ion and further diversify its portfolio mix. The Company is mindful of
and LG Chem. While the Company considers lithium-ion battery technology to be the ESG risks associated with the production and recycling of batteries.
the most efficient and most competitive form of storage in today's market,
there is a risk that other technologies may enter the market with the ability The Company is not under an exclusivity agreement with any individual battery
to provide similar or more efficient services to power markets at comparable manufacturer and will manage its supply framework agreements in a manner that
or lower costs, reducing the portfolio's market share of revenues in the allows it to take advantage of any improvements or amendments to new storage
medium or long term. There is also a risk that batteries might be unavailable technologies as they become commercially viable, as well as mitigating any
due to delays caused by supply chain issues or local trade restrictions. potential supply chain issues or local trade restrictions.
Service Provider The Company has no employees and has delegated certain functions to several Service providers are appointed subject to due diligence processes and with ó
service providers, principally the Manager, Administrator, depositary and clearly documented contractual arrangements detailing service expectations.
registrar. Failure of controls, and poor performance of any service provider,
could lead to disruption, reputational damage or loss. Regular reports are provided by key service providers and the quality of their
services is monitored. The Directors also receive presentations from the
Manager, depositary and custodian, and the registrar on an annual basis.
Review of annual audited internal controls reports from key service providers,
including confirmation of business continuity arrangements and IT controls,
and follow up of remedial actions as required.
Valuation of Unquoted Assets The Company invests predominantly in unquoted assets whose fair value involves The Investment Manager routinely works with market experts to assess the ó
the exercise of judgement by the Investment Manager. There is a risk that the reasonableness of key data used in the asset valuation process (such as
Investment Manager's valuation of the portfolio may be deemed by other third revenue and inflation forecasts) and to reassess its valuations on a quarterly
parties to have been overstated or understated. basis. In addition, to ensure the objective reasonableness of the Company's
NAV materiality threshold and the discount rates applied, an independent
valuer, BDO, values a sample of portfolio, representing a large proportion of
the portfolio, with input from the Investment Manager. The auditors, EY,
review the valuations as part of the year end audit and half year review, to
ensure they are within an acceptable range.
Delays in Grid Energisation or Commissioning The Company relies on EPC contractors for energy storage system construction, The Company works closely with EPC contractors to ensure timely performance of ó
and on the relevant transmission systems and distribution systems' owners services and imposes liquidated damage payments under the EPC contracts for
(TSO) for timely energisation and connection of that battery storage asset to certain delays in delivery.
the transmission and distribution networks appropriately.
The Company seeks commitments from TSOs to a target energisation date as a
There is a risk that either the EPC contractor or relevant TSO could delay the condition to project acquisition and provides maximum visibility on project
target commercialisation date of an asset under construction and negatively development to TSOs in order to encourage collaboration towards that target
impact projected revenues. energisation date.
The Manager factors in delays by adjusting the valuation on an ongoing basis.
Currency Exposure The Company is the principal lender of funds to Group assets (via intercompany The Company acts as guarantor under currency hedge arrangements entered into ó
loan arrangements) for their investments in projects, including projects by impacted subsidiaries to mitigate its exposure to Euros and US Dollars. The
outside of the UK. This means that the Company may indirectly invest in Company will also guarantee future hedging arrangements as appropriate to seek
projects generating revenue and expenditure denominated in a currency other to manage its exposure to foreign currency risks.
than Sterling, including in US Dollars and Euros. There is a risk that the
value of such projects and the revenues projected to be received from them
will be diminished as a result of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The
diminishing in value could impact a subsidiary's ability to pay back the
Company under the intercompany loan arrangements.
Cyber-Attack and Loss of Data The Company is exposed (through the server, software, and communications Among other measures, the Company ensures its contractors and service á
systems of its primary service providers and suppliers) to the risk of providers, in addition to implementing a proactive approach to taking
cyber-attacks that may result in the loss of data, violation of privacy and measures, incorporate firewalls and virtual private networks for any equipment
resulting reputational damage. capable of remote access or control. Cybersecurity measures are incorporated
for both external and internal ('local') access to equipment, preventing
exposure to ransomware attacks or unsolicited access for any purpose. The
Company engages experts to assess the adequacy of its cybersecurity measures
and has implemented a requirement for annual testing to confirm and certify
such adequacy for representative samples for the entire fleet.
Physical and transitional climate-related risks The Company's assets are located in several different countries, some of which The Manager's due diligence and site design processes factor in climate ó
experience extreme weather, which could have a physical impact on the assets change-related risks when selecting sites and assets and designing systems to
and as a result affect shareholder returns. operate within a range of temperatures.
Climate change may also affect the development of technologies, markets and The Manager reports to the Board on developments in these areas regularly,
regulations. including recommendations for the Company to acclimate to technological,
market or regulatory change, including any driven by climate change.
RISK ASSESSMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROLS FRAMEWORK REVIEW BY THE BOARD
Risk assessment includes consideration of the scope and quality of the systems
of internal control operating within key service providers, and ensures
regular communication of the results of monitoring by such providers to the
audit committee, including the incidence of significant control failings or
weaknesses that have been identified at any time and the extent to which they
have resulted in unforeseen outcomes or contingencies that may have a material
impact on the Company's performance or condition.
No significant control failings or weaknesses were identified from the audit
committee's ongoing risk assessment which has been in place throughout the
financial year and up to the date of this report. The Board is satisfied that
it has undertaken a detailed review of the risks facing the Company.
The Board is satisfied that the material controls operated effectively during
the year and for the period up to and as at 16 July 2025. A full analysis of
the financial risks facing the Company is set out in note 17 to the Financial
Statements on pages 76 to 78 of the 2025 Annual Report.
GOING CONCERN
In assessing the going concern basis of accounting the Directors have had
regard to the guidance issued by the Financial Reporting Council. After making
enquiries and bearing in mind the nature of the Company's business and assets,
the Directors consider the Company to have adequate resources to continue in
operational existence over the period to 30 September 2026, being at least 12
months from the date of approval of the financial statements. As such, they
have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and
financial statements.
As at 31 March 2025, the Company had net current assets of £9 million and had
cash balances of £9.6 million (excluding cash balances within investee
companies), which are sufficient to meet current obligations as they fall due.
The Company had no contingencies and significant capital commitments as at the
31 March 2025. The Company is a guarantor to GSES1 Limited's revolving credit
facility with Santander. During the year this facility was upsized from £50m
to £100m, with an extended term to 2028. The Company also upsized the
project-level debt with First Citizens Bank to complete the buildout of the
200 MW Big Rock project, from an initial $60m to $90m. The Aggregate Group
Debt as of 31 March 2025 was at 17.8% of GAV with £56.3 million in debt
headroom available. There is no debt held at the Company level.
Financial forecast models have been reviewed for the going concern period
which consider available cash and existing debt capacity at the start of the
period and key financial assumptions at the Company level as well as at the
project level. These financial assumptions include expected remaining capital
expenditure on portfolio companies and cash generated by the portfolio
companies available to be distributed to the Company, as well as ongoing
administrative costs for the Company and intermediary holding companies.
Expected inflows and outflows (including interest repayments) on the external
debt facility at GSES 1 level and the project-level debt in California are
also considered.
As part of the going concern assessment the Directors have modelled downside
scenarios considering potential changes in trading performance. The Directors
consider the following scenarios:
· A base case scenario based on a blended average mid-case scenario
from third-party consultants;
· Although a simultaneous reduction in project companies' revenue
across the five grids they operate is not considered likely, a plausible 20%
average reduction in base case revenue has been considered as a downside
scenario.
This analysis shows that, under both the base case and downside scenarios, the
Company is expected to have comfortably sufficient financial resources
available to meet current obligations and commitments as they fall due for at
least 18 months until 30 September 2026. The Directors acknowledge their
responsibilities in relation to the financial statements for the year ended 31
March 2025 and the preparation of the financial statement on a going concern
basis remains appropriate and the Company expects to meet its obligations as
and when they fall due for at least 18 months until 30 September 2026.
LONG TERM VIABILITY
In reviewing the Company's viability, the Directors have assessed the
prospects of the Company over a period of five years to 31 March 2030. After
assessing the risks, which include emerging risks like climate change and
reviewing the Company's liquidity position, together with the forecasts of
performance under various scenarios, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet
its liabilities over the period of five years. In making this statement, the
Directors have reviewed cash forecasts over this period, taking into
consideration base case expectations and potential downside scenarios. The
Directors have also considered the current low leverage of the Company and its
subsidiaries and its capacity and ability to raise further debt up to 30% of
Gross Asset Value per internal policy. Further, the directors believe that
refinancing of the existing debt facilities ahead of current maturity dates is
reasonably feasible based on the level of debt relative to the portfolio. The
diversified nature of the portfolio, across five different grids, has been
taken into account when assessing concentration of any prolonged downturns to
the portfolio. In addition, mitigating actions under severe downside scenarios
have been considered, such as the discretionary nature of dividends and
ability to delay uncontracted capital expenditure on build out of
pre-construction phase projects in the portfolio.
This assessment has not considered the potential for further fundraising
through equity markets.
Statement of Directors' Responsibilities in respect of the preparation of the
Annual Financial Report
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each
financial period. Under that law the Directors are required to prepare the
Company financial statements, in accordance with UK adopted international
accounting standards.
Under company law, the Directors must not approve the financial statements
unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of
affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss for the Company for that
period.
In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them
consistently;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable
and prudent;
• state whether they have been prepared in accordance with UK
adopted international accounting standards, subject to any material departures
disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in
business; and
• prepare a Report of the Directors, a Strategic Report and
Directors' Remuneration Report which comply with the requirements of the
Companies Act 2006.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are
sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and
enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies
Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company
and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of
fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for ensuring the Annual Report and the financial
statements are made available on a website. Financial statements are published
on the Company's website in accordance with legislation in the UK governing
the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, which may vary from
legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the
Company's website www.gsenergystoragefund.com is the responsibility of the
Directors. The Directors' responsibilities also extend to the ongoing
integrity of the financial statements contained therein.
The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge:
• the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced, and
understandable and provides the information necessary for shareholders to
assess the Company's performance, business model and strategy;
• the Company's financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards and give a true
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of
the Company; and
• the Annual Report includes a fair review of the development
and performance of the business and the financial position of the Company,
together with a description of the principal and emerging risks and
uncertainties that it faces.
On behalf of the Board
Pat Cox
Chair
Financial Statements
Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the Year Ended 31 March 2025
Year Ended 31 March 2025 Year Ended 31 March 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
Notes (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
Net (loss)/gain on investments at fair value through profit and loss - (3,177,919) (3,177,919) - (30,041,779) (30,041,779)
Investment income 7 16,539,881 - 16,539,881 32,298,791 - 32,298,791
Other income 787 - 787 10,355 - 10,355
Total income 16,540,668 (3,177,919) 13,362,749 32,309,146 (30,041,779) 2,267,367
Administrative and other expenses 8 (7,178,546) - (7,178,546) (7,925,906) - (7,925,906)
Profit/(loss) before tax 9,362,122 (3,177,919) 6,184,203 24,383,240 (30,041,779) (5,658,539)
Taxation 9 - - - - - -
Profit/(loss) after tax and profit/(loss) for the year 9,362,122 (3,177,919) 6,184,203 24,383,240 (30,041,779) (5,658,539)
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for the year 9,362,122 (3,177,919) 6,184,203 24,383,240 (30,041,779) (5,658,539)
Profit/(loss) per share (basic and diluted) - pence per share 10 1.85 (0.63) 1.22 5.02 (6.19) (1.10)
All Revenue and Capital items in the above statement are derived from
continuing operations.
The Total column of this statement represents the Company's Income Statement
prepared in accordance with UK adopted IAS. The profit/(loss) after tax and
profit/(loss) for the year is the total comprehensive income and therefore no
additional statement of other comprehensive income is presented.
The supplementary revenue and capital columns are presented for information
purposes in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issue by the
Association of Investment Companies.
Statement of Financial Position
As at 31 March 2025
Company Number 11160422
31 March 2025 31 March 2024
Notes (£) (£)
Non - Current Assets
Investments at fair value through profit or loss 11 510,251,383 481,659,515
510,251,383 481,659,515
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 12 9,595,425 60,667,572
Trade and other receivables 13 114,354 519,853
9,709,779 61,187,425
Total assets 519,961,162 542,846,940
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 14 666,939 2,150,447
666,939 2,150,447
Total net assets 519,294,223 540,696,493
Shareholders equity
Share capital 19 5,050,995 5,050,995
Share premium 19 331,302,899 331,302,899
Merger reserve 19 10,621,884 10,621,884
Capital reduction reserve 19 47,503,421 75,089,894
Capital reserve 19 92,364,716 95,542,635
Revenue reserve 19 32,450,308 23,088,186
Total shareholders equity 519,294,223 540,696,493
Net asset value per share 18 1.03 1.07
Statement of Changes in Equity
For the Year Ended 31 March 2025
Share Capital Total
Share premium Merger reduction Capital Revenue shareholders'
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve equity
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
As at 1 April 2024 5,050,995 331,302,899 10,621,884 75,089,894 95,542,635 23,088,186 540,696,493
Profit/(loss) for the year - - - - (3,177,919) 9,362,122 6,184,203
Total comprehensive profit/loss for the year - - - - (3,177,919) 9,362,122 6,184,203
Transactions with owners
Dividends paid - - - (27,586,473) - - (27,586,473)
As at 31 March 2025 5,050,995 331,302,899 10,621,884 47,503,421 92,364,716 32,450,308 519,294,223
Capital reduction reserve and revenue reserves are available to the Company
for distributions to Shareholders as determined by the Directors.
For the Year Ended 31 March 2024
Share Capital Total
Share premium Special Merger reduction Capital Revenue shareholders'
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve equity
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
As at 1 April 2023 4,813,995 315,686,634 349,856 - 111,125,000 125,584,414 (1,295,054) 556,264,845
Loss for the year - - - - - (30,041,779) 24,383,240 (5,658,539)
Total comprehensive loss for the year - - - - - (30,041,779) 24,383,240 (5,658,539)
Transactions with owners
Ordinary Shares issued at a premium during the year 237,000 15,666,000 - 10,670,000 - - - 26,573,000
Share issue costs - (49,735) - (48,116) - - - (97,851)
Movement in special reserve - - (349,856) - 349,856 - - -
Dividends paid - - - - (36,384,962) - - (36,384,962)
As at 31 March 2024 5,050,995 331,302,899 - 10,621,884 75,089,894 95,542,635 23,088,186 540,696,493
Capital reduction reserve and revenue reserves are available to the Company
for distributions to Shareholders as determined by the Directors.
Statement of Cash Flows
For the Year Ended 31 March 2025
Notes Year Ended Year Ended
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Cash flows generated from operating activities
Profit/(loss) for the year 6,184,203 (5,658,539)
Net loss on investments at fair value through profit and loss 3,177,919 30,041,779
Decrease in trade and other receivables 405,499 323,973
Decrease in trade and other payables (1,483,508) (896,407)
Net cash generated from operating activities 8,284,113 23,810,806
Cash flows used in investing activities
Funding of investments (77,640,212) (69,850,873)
Loan principal repayment from investment 45,870,425 3,678,725
Net cash used in investing activities (31,769,787) (66,172,148)
Cash flows used in financing activities
Proceeds from issue of Ordinary Shares at a premium - 15,806,000
Share issue costs - (97,851)
Dividends paid (27,586,473) (36,384,962)
Net cash outflow from financing activities (27,586,473) (20,676,813)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents for the year (51,072,147) (63,038,155)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 60,667,572 123,705,727
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 9,595,425 60,667,572
During the year, interest received by the Company from investments totalled
£15,664,565 (2024: £29,155,404) and interest received from bank deposits
totalled £875,316 (2024: £3,143,387).
Total repayments from subsidiaries during the year amounted to £61,534,990
(2024: £32,834,129).
Notes to the Financial Statements
For the Year Ended 31 March 2025
1. General information
Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (the "Company"), a public limited company
limited by shares was incorporated and registered in England and Wales on 19
January 2018 with registered number 11160422. The registered office of the
Company is 16-17 Little Portland Street, First Floor, London, W1W 8BP.
Its share capital is denominated in Pound Sterling (GBP) and currently
consists of Ordinary Shares. The Company's principal activity is to invest in
a diversified portfolio of utility scale energy storage projects currently
located in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, North America and Germany.
2. Basis of preparation
STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE
The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with UK
adopted international accounting standards. The Company has also adopted the
Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Association of Investment
Companies which provides guidance on the presentation of supplementary
information.
The Company is an investment entity in accordance with IFRS 10 which holds all
its subsidiaries at fair value and therefore prepares unconsolidated accounts
only.
FUNCTIONAL AND PRESENTATION CURRENCY
The currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates
(the functional currency) is Pound Sterling ("GBP or £") which is also the
presentation currency.
GOING CONCERN
In assessing the going concern basis of accounting the Directors have had
regard to the guidance issued by the Financial Reporting Council. After making
enquiries and bearing in mind the nature of the Company's business and assets,
the Directors consider the Company to have adequate resources to continue in
operational existence over the period to 30 September 2026, being at least 12
months from the date of approval of the financial statements. As such, they
have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and
financial statements.
As at 31 March 2025, the Company had net current assets of £9 million and had
cash balances of £9.6 million (excluding cash balances within investee
companies), which are sufficient to meet current obligations as they fall due.
The Company had no contingencies and significant capital commitments as at the
31 March 2025. The Company is a guarantor to GSES1 Limited's revolving credit
facility with Santander. During the year this facility was upsized from £50m
to £100m, with an extended term to 2028. The Company also upsized the
project-level debt with First Citizens Bank to complete the buildout of the
200 MW Big Rock project, from an initial $60m to $90m. The Aggregate Group
Debt as of 31 March 2025 was at 17.8% of GAV with £56.3 million in debt
headroom available. There is no debt held at the Company level.
Financial forecast models have been reviewed for the going concern period
which consider available cash and existing debt capacity at the start of the
period and key financial assumptions at the Company level as well as at the
project level. These financial assumptions include expected remaining capital
expenditure on portfolio companies and cash generated by the portfolio
companies available to be distributed to the Company, as well as ongoing
administrative costs for the Company and intermediary holding companies.
Expected inflows and outflows (including interest repayments) on the external
debt facility at GSES 1 level and the project-level debt in California are
also considered.
As part of the going concern assessment the Directors have modelled downside
scenarios considering potential changes in trading performance. The Directors
consider the following scenarios:
• A base case scenario based on a blended average mid-case
scenario from third-party consultants;
• Although a simultaneous reduction in project companies'
revenue across the five grids they operate is not considered likely, a
plausible 20% average reduction in base case revenue has been considered as a
downside scenario.
This analysis shows that, under both the base case and downside scenarios, the
Company is expected to have comfortably sufficient financial resources
available to meet current obligations and commitments as they fall due for at
least 18 months until 30 September 2026.
The Directors acknowledge their responsibilities in relation to the financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 and have prepared the financial
statement on a going concern basis. The Company expects to meet its
obligations as and when they fall due for at least the next twelve months to
30 September 2026.
OPERATING SEGMENTS
Under IFRS 8, particular classes of entities are required to disclose
information about any of their individual operating segments. All of the
Company's portfolio is held through the Company's direct subsidiary, GSES 1
Limited. Therefore, the Directors are of the opinion that there is only one
segment and therefore no operating segment information is given.
3. Significant accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions
The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make
judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of
accounting policies and the reported amount of assets, liabilities, income and
expenses. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing
basis. Revisions to the accounting estimates are recognised in the period in
which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.
During the year the Directors considered the following significant judgements,
estimates and assumptions:
ASSESSMENT AS AN INVESTMENT ENTITY
Entities that meet the definition of an investment entity within IFRS 10 are
required to measure their subsidiaries at fair value through profit or loss
rather than consolidate them unless they provided investment-related services
to the Company. As such, the Directors are required to make a judgement as to
whether the Company continues to meet the definition of an investment entity.
To determine this, the Company is required to satisfy the following three
criteria:
a) the Company obtains funds from one or more investors for the
purpose of providing those investors with investment management services;
b) the Company commits to its investors that its business purpose is
to invest funds solely for returns from capital appreciation, investment
income, or both; and
c) the Company measures and evaluates the performance of
substantially all of its investments on a fair value basis.
The Company meets the criteria as follows:
• the stated strategy of the Company is to deliver stable
returns to shareholders through a mix of energy storage investments;
• the Company provides investment management services and has
several investors who pool their funds to gain access to infrastructure
related investment opportunities that they might not have had access to
individually; and
• the Company has elected to measure and evaluate the
performance of all of its investments on a fair value basis. The fair value
method is used to represent the Company's performance in its communication to
the market, including investor presentations. In addition, the Company reports
fair value information internally to Directors, who use fair value as the
primary measurement attribute to evaluate performance.
Having assessed the criteria above and in their judgement, the Directors are
of the opinion that the Company has all the typical characteristics of an
investment entity and continues to meet the definition in the standard. This
conclusion will be reassessed on an annual basis.
VALUATION OF INVESTMENTS
Significant estimates in the Company's financial statements include the
amounts recorded for the fair value of the investments. By their nature, these
estimates and assumptions are subject to measurement uncertainty and the
effect on the Company's financial statements of changes in estimates in future
periods could be significant. These estimates are discussed in more detail in
note 16.
4. New and revised standards and interpretations
NEW AND REVISED STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS
The accounting policies used in the preparation of the financial statements
have been consistently applied during the year ended 31 March 2025.
In January 2020, the International Accounting Standards Board issued
amendments to IAS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements to clarify how an
entity classifies debt and other financial liabilities as current or
non-current. The amendments specify that covenants to be complied with after
the reporting date do not affect the classification of debt as current or
non-current at the reporting date. Instead, the amendments require a company
to disclose information about these covenants in the notes to the financial
statements. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods
beginning on or after 1 January 2024 and having reviewed the amendments, the
Board is of the opinion that these amendments will not have a material impact
on the Company's financial statements.
There have been no other new standards, amendments to current standards, or
new interpretations which the directors feel have a material impact on these
financial statements.
NEW AND REVISED IFRS IN ISSUE BUT NOT YET EFFECTIVE
In April 2024, the International Accounting Standards Board issued a new
standard aimed at improving the usefulness of information presented and
disclosed in financial statements. The new Standard, IFRS 18 Presentation and
Disclosure in Financial Statements, will give investors more transparent and
comparable information about companies' financial performance, thereby
enabling better investment decisions. It will affect all companies using IFRS
Accounting Standards. The new standard is effective for annual reporting
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027 and having reviewed the
amendments, the Board is of the opinion that these amendments will not have a
material impact on the Company's NAV but could change the presentation of its
income statement.
5. Summary of significant accounting policies
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these
financial statements are set out below:
INVESTMENT INCOME
Interest income is recognised on an accrual basis in the Revenue account of
the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
Investment income arising from fair value gains and pertaining to the
portfolio assets is recognised on an accruals basis, with amounts received in
cash recognised in investment income and the unrealised portion disclosed in
net gain on investments at fair value through profit and loss.
EXPENSES
Expenses are accounted for on an accrual basis and charged to the Statement of
Comprehensive Income. Share issue costs are allocated to equity. Expenses are
charged through the Revenue account except those which are capital in nature,
these include those which are incidental to the acquisition, disposal or
enhancement of an investment, which are accounted for through the Capital
account.
NET GAIN OR LOSS ON INVESTMENTS AT FAIR VALUE THROUGH PROFIT AND LOSS
Gains or losses arising from changes in the fair value of investments are
recognised in the Capital account of the Statement of Comprehensive Income in
the period in which they arise. The value of the investments may be increased
or reduced by the assessed fair value movement.
TAXATION
The Company is approved as an Investment Trust Company ("ITC") under sections
1158 and 1159 of the Corporation Taxes Act 2010 and Part 2 Chapter 1 Statutory
Instrument 2011/29999 for accounting periods commencing on or after 25 May
2018. The approval is subject to the Company continuing to meet the
eligibility conditions of the Corporations Tax Act 2010 and the Statutory
Instrument 2011/29999. The Company intends to ensure that it complies with the
ITC regulations on an ongoing basis and regularly monitors the conditions
required to maintain ITC status.
There is a single UK corporation tax rate of 25%. Current Tax and movements in
deferred tax asset and liability are recognised in the Statement of
Comprehensive Income except to the extent that they relate to the items
recognised as direct movements in equity, in which case they are similarly
recognised as a direct movement in equity. Current tax is the expected tax
payable on any taxable income for the period, using tax rates enacted or
substantively enacted at the end of the relevant period. Any closing deferred
tax balances have been calculated at 25% as this is the rate expected to apply
in future periods.
Deferred taxation is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have
originated but not reversed at the Statement of Financial Position date where
transactions or events that result in an obligation to pay more tax or a right
to pay less tax in the future have occurred. Timing differences are
differences between the Company's taxable profits and its results as stated in
the financial statements. Deferred taxation assets are recognised where, in
the opinion of the Directors, it is more likely than not that these amounts
will be realised in future periods, at the tax rate expected to be applicable
at realisation.
INVESTMENT IN SUBSIDIARIES
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Company. Control exists when the
Company is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement
with the subsidiary entity and has the ability to affect those returns through
its power over the subsidiary entity. In accordance with the exception under
IFRS 10 Consolidated financial statements, the Company is an investment entity
and therefore only consolidates subsidiaries if they provide investment
management services and are not themselves investment entities. All
subsidiaries are investment entities and held at fair value in accordance with
IFRS 9 and therefore not consolidated.
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and call deposits held with
the bank with original maturities of three months or less.
TRADE AND OTHER RECEIVABLES
Trade and other receivables are recognised initially at fair value and
subsequently stated at amortised cost less loss allowance which is calculated
using the provision matrix of the expected credit loss model.
TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES
Trade and other payables are recognised initially at fair value and
subsequently stated at amortised cost.
DIVIDENDS
Dividends are recognised, as a reduction in equity in the financial
statements. Interim equity dividends are recognised when legally payable.
Final equity dividends will be recognised when approved by the Shareholders.
EQUITY
Equity instruments issued by the Company are recorded at the amount of the
proceeds received, net of directly attributable issue costs. Costs not
directly attributable to the issue are immediately expensed in the Statement
of Comprehensive Income.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
In accordance with IFRS 9, the Company classifies its financial assets and
financial liabilities at initial recognition into the categories of amortised
cost or fair value through profit or loss.
FINANCIAL ASSETS
The Company classifies its financial assets at amortised cost or fair value
through profit or loss on the basis of both:
• the entity's business model for managing the financial
assets
• the contractual cash flow characteristics of the financial
asset
Financial assets measured at amortised cost
The Company includes in this category short-term non-financing receivables
including cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and trade and other
receivables.
Financial asset measured at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL)
A financial asset is measured at fair value through profit or loss if:
a) its contractual terms do not give rise to cash flows on specified
dates that are solely payments of principal and interest (SPPI) on the
principal amount outstanding; or
b) it is not held within a business model whose objective is either
to collect contractual cash flows, or to both collect contractual cash flows
and sell; or
c) it is classified as held for trading (derivative contracts in an
asset position); or
d) It is classified as an equity instrument.
The Company includes in this category equity instruments and loans to
investments.
FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
This category includes all financial liabilities, including short-term
payables.
RECOGNITION AND DERECOGNITION
Financial assets and liabilities are recognised on trade date, when the
Company becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. A
financial asset is derecognised where the rights to receive cash flows from
the asset have expired, or the Company has transferred its rights to receive
cash flows from the asset. The Company derecognises a financial liability when
the obligation under the liability is discharged, cancelled or expired.
IMPAIRMENT OF FINANCIAL ASSETS
The Company holds trade receivables with no financing component and which have
maturities of less than 12 months at amortised cost and, as such, has chosen
to apply the simplified approach for expected credit losses (ECL) under IFRS 9
to all its trade receivables.
FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT AND HIERARCHY
Fair value is the price that would be received on the sale of an asset, or
paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market
participants at the measurement date. The fair value measurement is based on
the presumption that the transaction takes place either in the principal
market for the asset or liability, or in the absence of a principal market, in
the most advantageous market. It is based on the assumptions that market
participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, assuming they act
in their economic best interest.
The fair value hierarchy to be applied under IFRS 13 is as follows:
Level 1: Quoted (unadjusted) market prices in active markets for identical
assets or liabilities.
Level 2: Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is
significant to the fair value measurement is directly or indirectly
observable.
Level 3: Valuation techniques for which the lowest level input that is
significant to the fair value measurement is unobservable.
For assets and liabilities that are carried at fair value, and which will be
recorded in the financial information on a recurring basis, the Company will
determine whether transfers have occurred between levels in the hierarchy by
reassessing categorisation at the end of each reporting period.
6. Fees and expenses
ACCOUNTING, SECRETARIAL AND DIRECTORS
Apex Group Fiduciary Services (UK) Limited ("Apex") had been appointed as
administrator. Through an Administration agreement, Apex is entitled to an
annual fee of £50,000 for the provision of accounting and administration
services based on a Company Net Asset Value of up to £30 million. An ad
valorem fee based on total assets of the Company which exceed £30 million
will be applied as follows:
• 0.05% on a Net Asset Value of £30 million to £75 million
• 0.025% on a Net Asset Value of £75 million to £150 million
• 0.02% on a Net Asset Value thereafter.
During the year, expenses incurred with Apex for accounting and administrative
services amounted to £150,514 (2024: £159,714), with £150,515 being
outstanding and payable at the year end (2024: £39,414).
AIFM
The AIFM up until 31 March 2025, Gore Street Capital Limited (the "AIFM"), was
entitled to receive from the Company, in respect of its services provided
under the AIFM agreement, a fee of £75,000 per annum for the term of the AIFM
agreement. On 31 March 2025, Gore Street Investment Management Limited
replaced Gore Street Capital Limited as AIFM and is entitled the same fee.
During the year, AIFM fees amounted to £74,897 (2024: £75,104), there were
no outstanding fees payable at the year end.
At the year end, an amount of £18,854 paid in the year to Gore Street Capital
Limited in respect of these fees, is being disclosed in prepayments as it
relates to the period 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025.
INVESTMENT ADVISORY
The fees relating to the Investment Advisor are disclosed within note 21
Transactions with related parties.
7. Investment Income
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Bank interest income 875,316 3,143,387
Loan interest income received from subsidiaries 15,664,565 29,155,404
16,539,881 32,298,791
8. Administrative and other expenses
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Accounting and Company Secretarial fees 150,514 171,930
Auditor's remuneration (see below) 304,100 273,000
Bank interest and charges 4,185 9,515
Directors' remuneration and expenses 330,118 306,556
Directors & Officers insurance 17,051 19,272
Foreign exchange loss 4 14
Investment advisory fees 5,107,713 5,542,596
Legal and professional fees 850,175 1,110,554
AIFM fees 74,897 75,104
Marketing fees 51,284 56,295
Sundry expenses 288,505 361,070
7,178,546 7,925,906
Included in legal and professional fees is a fee of £606,112 to Gore Street
Services Limited ('GSS'), a direct subsidiary of Gore Street Capital Limited,
for commercial management services as detailed further in Note 21.
During the year, the Company received the following services from its auditor,
Ernst & Young LLP.
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Audit services
Statutory audit: Annual accounts - current year 285,000 254,500
Non-audit services
Other assurance services - Interim accounts 19,100 18,500
Total audit and non-audit services 304,100 273,000
The statutory auditor is remunerated £171,450 (2024: £170,790), in relation
to audits of the subsidiaries. This amount is not included in the above.
9. Taxation
The Company is recognised as an Investment Trust Company ("ITC") for
accounting periods beginning on or after 25 May 2018 and is taxed at the main
rate of 25%. ITCs are exempt from UK corporation tax on their capital gains.
Additionally, ITCs may designate all or part of dividends distributions to
shareholders as an interest distribution, which is tax deductible, to the
extent that it has "qualifying interest income" for the accounting period.
Therefore, there is no corporate tax charge for the year (2024: £nil).
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
(a) Tax charge in profit and loss account
UK Corporation tax - -
(b) Reconciliation of the tax charge for the year
Profit/(loss) before tax 6,184,203 (5,658,539)
Tax at UK standard rate of 25% (2024: 25%) 1,546,051 (1,414,635)
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 5,689,485 7,552,770
Group relief claimed (1,856,348) -
Income not taxable - (2,589)
Tax deductible interest distributions (4,129,188) (7,219,157)
Movement in deferred tax not recognised (1,250,000) 1,083,611
Tax charge for the year - -
There is no corporate tax charge for the period (2024: £nil). The Company may
utilise available tax losses from within the UK tax group to relieve future
taxable profits in the Company and may also claim deductions on future
distributions or parts thereof designated as interest distributions.
Therefore, taxable profits are not expected for the foreseeable future and as
a result deferred tax asset measured at the prospective corporate rate of 25%
(2024: 25%) of £1,667,202 (2024: £2,917,202) is not being recognised.
10. Earnings per share
Earnings per share (EPS) amounts are calculated by dividing the profit or loss
for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders of the Company by the
weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during the period. As
there are no dilutive instruments outstanding, basic, and diluted earnings per
share are identical.
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
Net gain/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders £6,184,203 (£ 5,658,539)
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares for the year 505,099,478 485,524,888
Profit/(loss) Per share - Basic and diluted (pence) 1.22 (1.17)
11. Investments
31 March 31 March
Percentage 2025 2024
Place of business ownership (£) (£)
GSES1 Limited ("GSES1") England & Wales 100% 510,251,383 470,570,558
Porterstown Battery Storage Limited ("Porterstown") Republic of Ireland 49% - 6,765,120
Kilmannock Battery Storage Limited ("Kilmannock") Republic of Ireland 49% - 4,323,837
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
Reconciliation (£) (£)
Opening balance 481,659,515 434,762,146
Loans advanced during the year 88,407,212 69,850,873
Loan repayments during the year (45,870,425) (3,678,725)
Loan interest received (15,664,565) (29,155,404)
Loan interest accrued from GSES 1 Limited 35,244,421 29,971,133
(Transfer)/purchase of investments in Porterstown and Kilmannock (10,767,000) 10,767,000
Total fair value movement on equity investment (22,757,775) (30,857,508)
510,251,383 481,659,515
The Company is not contractually obligated to provide financial support to the
subsidiaries and associate, except as guarantor to the debt facility entered
into by its direct subsidiary GSES 1 Limited, and there are no restrictions in
place in passing monies up the structure.
The investment in GSES1 is financed through equity and a loan facility
available to GSES1. The facility may be drawn upon, to any amount agreed by
the Company as lender, and is available for a period of 20 years from 28 June
2018. The rest of the investment in GSES1 is funded through equity. The amount
drawn on the facility at 31 March 2025 was £417,891,112 (2024:
£375,354,326). The loan is interest bearing and attracts interest at 8.5% per
annum.
Realisation of increases in fair value in the indirect subsidiaries will be
passed up the structure as repayments of loan interest and principal. The
Company holds a 100% investment in GSES 1. GSES 1 in turn holds investments in
various holding companies and operating assets as detailed below.
Immediate Parent Place of business Percentage Ownership Investment
GSF Albion Limited ("GSF Albion") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
NK Boulby Energy Storage Limited GSF Albion England & Wales 99.998% Boulby
Ferrymuir Energy Storage Limited GSF Albion England & Wales 100% Ferrymuir
Kiwi Power ES B Limited GSF Albion England & Wales 49% Cenin
GSF IRE Limited ("GSF IRE") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
Mullavilly Energy Limited GSF IRE Northern Ireland 51% Mullavilly
Drumkee Energy Limited GSF IRE Northern Ireland 51% Drumkee
Porterstown Battery Storage Limited((1)) GSF IRE Republic of Ireland 100% Porterstown
Kilmannock Battery Storage Limited((1)) GSF IRE Republic of Ireland 100% Kilmannock
GSF England Limited ("GSF England") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
GS10 Energy Storage Limited (formerly Ancala GSF England England & Wales 100% Beeches, Blue House Farm,
Energy Storage Limited) Brookhall, Fell View, Grimsargh, Hermitage, Heywood Grange, High Meadow,
Hungerford, Low Burntoft
Breach Farm Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Breach Farm
Hulley Road Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Hulley Road
Larport Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Larport
Lascar Battery Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Lascar
OSSPV001 Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Lower Road, Port of Tilbury
Stony Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Stony
Enderby Battery Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Enderby
Middleton Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Middleton
GSF Atlantic Limited GSES1 England & Wales 100%
GSF Americas Inc. GSF Atlantic Delaware 100%
GSF Cremzow GmbH & Co KG GSF Atlantic Germany 90% Cremzow LP
GSF Cremzow Verwaltungs GmbH GSF Atlantic Germany 90% Cremzow GP
Snyder ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Snyder
Sweetwater ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Sweetwater
Westover ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Westover
Cedar Hill ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Cedar Hill
Mineral Wells ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Mineral Wells
Wichita Falls ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Wichita Falls
Mesquite ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Mesquite
Dogfish ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Dogfish
Big Rock ESS Assets, LLC GSF Americas Delaware 100% Big Rock
Mucklagh Battery Storage Facility Limited GSF IRE Republic of Ireland 51% Mucklagh
Gore Street Facilities Management Inc. GSF Americas Delaware 100%
(1) On 23 April 2024, further to the direct acquisition of the
remaining 49% of both Porterstown Battery Storage Limited and Kilmannock
Battery Storage Limited on 25 March 2024, the Company transferred these new
equity stakes down to GSF IRE Limited by way of an intercompany loan through
GSES 1 Limited.
12. Cash and cash equivalents
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Cash at bank 9,595,425 55,306,092
Restricted cash - 5,361,480
9,595,425 60,667,572
Restricted cash comprised cash held as collateral for future contractual
payment obligations and deferred payments payable from indirect subsidiaries
of the Company to third party suppliers in relation to the Big Rock project.
Collateral was released to the Company upon settlement of the contractual
payments, made in accordance with the applicable contracts. The final payment
to the supplier under the contractual agreement was made in April 2024 and
subsequently the remaining £5,361,480 plus interest earned was released from
the collateral account in June 2024.
13. Trade and other receivables
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
VAT recoverable 27,406 185,712
Prepaid Director's and Officer's insurance 1,912 2,111
Other Prepayments 46,171 118,218
Other Debtors 23,681 -
Bank interest receivable 15,184 213,812
114,354 519,853
14. Trade and other payables
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Administration fees 150,515 39,414
Audit fees 285,000 276,500
Directors remuneration 10,395 9,824
Professional fees 221,029 1,823,031
Other creditors - 1,678
666,939 2,150,447
15. Categories of financial instruments
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
(£) (£)
Financial assets
Financial assets at amortised cost
Cash and cash equivalents 9,595,425 60,667,572
Trade and other receivables 114,354 519,853
Fair value through profit and loss
Investment 510,251,383 481,659,515
Total financial assets 519,961,162 542,846,940
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities at amortised cost
Trade and other payables 666,939 2,150,447
Total financial liabilities 666,939 2,150,447
At the balance sheet date, all financial assets and liabilities were measured
at amortised cost except for the investment in equity and loans to
subsidiaries which are measured at fair value.
16. Fair Value measurement
VALUATION APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
There are three traditional valuation approaches that are generally accepted
and typically used to establish the value of a business; the income approach,
the market approach, and the net assets (or cost based) approach. Within these
three approaches, several methods are generally accepted and typically used to
estimate the value of a business.
The Company has chosen to utilise the income approach, to value its
subsidiaries investments, which indicates value based on the sum of the
economic income that an asset, or group of assets, is anticipated to produce
in the future. Therefore, the income approach is typically applied to an asset
that is expected to generate future economic income, such as a business that
is considered a going concern. Free cash flow to total invested capital is
typically the appropriate measure of economic income. The income approach is
the Discounted Cash Flow ("DCF") approach and the method discounts free cash
flows using an estimated discount rate (Weighted Average Cost of Capital
("WACC")).
VALUATION PROCESS
The Company's portfolio of lithium-ion energy storage investments has a total
capacity of 1.25GW (2024: 1.25GW). As at 31 March 2025, 421.4 MW of the
Company's total portfolio was operational (2024: 371.5 MW) and 828.6 MW
pre‑operational (2024: 873.5 MW) (the "Investments").
The Investments comprise projects, based in the UK, the Republic of Ireland,
mainland Europe and North America. The Directors review and approve these
valuations following appropriate challenge and examination. The current
portfolio consists of non-market traded investments and valuations are
analysed using forecasted cash flows of the assets and used the discounted
cash flow approach as the primary approach for the valuation. The Investment
Manager prepares financial models utilising revenue forecasts from external
parties to determine the fair value of the Company's investments and the
Company engages external, independent, and qualified valuers to verify the
valuations.
As at 31 March 2025, the fair value of the portfolio of investments has been
determined by the Investment Manager and reviewed by BDO UK LLP.
The below table summarises the significant unobservable inputs to the
valuation of investments.
Significant Inputs Fair Value
31 March 31 March
Valuation 2025 2024
Investment Portfolio technique Description (Range) (£) (£)
Great Britain DCF Discount Rate 7.25% - 12% 194,056,145 197,453,898
(excluding Northern Ireland) Revenue / MW / hr £7 - £12
Northern Ireland DCF Discount Rate 8% - 9.25% 35,179,794 44,381,239
Revenue / MW / hr €9 - €23
Republic of Ireland DCF Discount Rate 8.25% - 11% 52,701,213 54,445,455
Revenue / MW / hr €8 - €11
Other OECD DCF Discount Rate 9.25% - 10.75% 269,536,752 196,268,784
Revenue / MW / hr €9 - €12 / $7 - $23
Holding Companies NAV (41,222,521) (10,889,861)
Total Investments 510,251,383 481,659,515
The fair value of the holding companies represents the net assets together
with any cash held within those companies in order to settle any operational
costs.
• Sensitivity Analysis
The below table reflects the range of sensitivities in respect of the fair
value movements of the Company's investments and via GSES 1.
Significant Inputs Estimated effect on Fair Value
31 March 31 March
Valuation 2025 2024
Investment Portfolio technique Description Sensitivity (£) (£)
Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) DCF Revenue + 10 % 38,091,863 40,018,900
- 10 % (38,317,304) (40,636,523)
Discount rate +1 % (26,724,999) (29,165,634)
-1 % 31,192,033 34,203,482
Northern Ireland DCF Revenue + 10 % 4,583,713 4,773,587
- 10 % (4,580,601) (4,776,693)
Discount rate +1 % (2,621,530) (2,657,793)
-1 % 3,022,662 3,066,071
Exchange rate +3 % (1,115,314) (1,222,696)
-3 % 1,184,308 1,298,082
Republic of Ireland DCF Revenue + 10 % 15,595,403 7,892,427
- 10 % (16,309,692) (9,622,279)
Discount rate +1 % (11,160,731) (8,951,937)
-1 % 13,224,245 10,423,597
Exchange rate +3 % (1,442,480) (1,202,234)
-3 % 1,531,706 1,276,599
Other OECD DCF Revenue +10 % 35,149,719 29,656,856
-10 % (36,026,351) (30,077,236)
Discount rate +1 % (18,103,268) (16,265,625)
-1 % 20,583,145 18,675,891
Exchange rate +3 % (8,030,124) (5,675,505)
-3 % 8,525,811 6,026,567
High case (+10%) and low case (-10%) revenue information used to determine
sensitivities are provided by third party pricing sources.
• Valuation of financial instruments
The investments at fair value through profit or loss are Level 3 in the fair
value hierarchy. No transfers between levels took place during the year. The
fair value of other financial instruments held during the year approximates
their carrying amount.
17. Financial risk management
The Company is exposed to certain risks through the ordinary course of
business and the Company's financial risk management objective is to minimise
the effect of these risks. The management of risks is performed by the
Directors of the Company and the exposure to each financial risk is considered
potentially material to the Company, how it arises and the policy for managing
it is summarised below:
• Capital risk management
The capital structure of the Company at year end consists of equity
attributable to equity holders of the Company, comprising issued capital,
reserves and accumulated gains. The Board continues to monitor the balance of
the overall capital structure so as to maintain investor and market
confidence. The Company is not subject to any external capital requirements.
• Counterparty risk
The Company is exposed to third party credit risk in several instances,
including the possibility that counterparties with which the Company and its
subsidiaries, together the Group, contract with, may default or fail to
perform their obligations in the manner anticipated by the Group. Such
counterparties may include (but are not limited to) manufacturers who have
provided warranties in relation to the supply of any equipment or plant, EPC
contractors who have constructed the Company's projects, who may then be
engaged to operate assets held by the Company, property owners or tenants who
are leasing ground space and/or grid connection to the Company for the
location of the assets, contractual counterparties who acquire services from
the Company underpinning revenue generated by each project or the energy
suppliers, or demand aggregators, insurance companies who may provide coverage
against various risks applicable to the Company's assets (including the risk
of terrorism or natural disasters affecting the assets) and other third
parties who may owe sums to the Company. In the event that such credit risk
crystallises, in one or more instances, and the Company is, for example,
unable to recover sums owed to it, make claims in relation to any contractual
agreements or performance of obligations (e.g. warranty claims) or require the
Company to seek alternative counterparties, this may materially adversely
impact the investment returns.
Further the projects in which the Company may invest will not always benefit
from a turnkey contract with a single contractor and so will be reliant on the
performance of several suppliers. Therefore, the key risks during battery
installation in connection with such projects are the counterparty risk of the
suppliers and successful project integration. The Company accounts for its
exposure to counterparty risk through the fair value of its investments by
using appropriate discount rates which adequately reflects its risk exposure.
The Company regularly assesses the creditworthiness of its counterparties and
enters into counterparty arrangements which are financially sound and ensures,
where necessary, the sourcing of alternative arrangements in the event of
changes in the creditworthiness of its present counterparties.
• Concentration risk
The Company's investment policy is limited to investment in energy storage
infrastructure in the UK, Republic of Ireland, North America, Western Europe,
Australia, Japan, and South Korea. The value of investments outside of the UK
is not intended to exceed 60% of Gross Asset Value of the Company. As at 31
March 2025, investments outside of the UK were at 51% (2024: 42%) of the Gross
Asset Value. Significant concentration of investments in any one sector and
location may result in greater volatility in the value of the Group's
investments and consequently the Net Asset Value and may materially and
adversely affect the performance of the Group and returns to Shareholders. The
Company currently has investments located across 5 different grids in the UK,
Republic of Ireland, North America (ERCOT and CAISO), and Germany. This
diversification reduces exposure to any single grid. The investment policy
also limits the exposure to any single asset within the portfolio to 25% of
the Gross Asset Value of the Company.
• Credit risk
The Company regularly assesses its credit exposure and considers the
creditworthiness of its customers and counterparties. Cash and bank deposits
are held with Barclays plc, Santander UK plc and JPMorgan Chase and Co.,
all reputable financial institutions with Moody's credit ratings of Baa1, A2
and A2 respectively.
• Liquidity risk
The objective of liquidity management is to ensure that all commitments which
are required to be funded can be met out of readily available and secure
sources of funding. The Company may, where the Board deems it appropriate, use
short-term leverage to acquire assets but with the intention that such
leverage be repaid with funds raised through a new issue of equity or cash
flow from the Company's portfolio. Such leverage will not exceed 30 per cent.
at the time of borrowing of Gross Asset Value without Shareholder approval.
The Company intends to prudently introduce a conservative amount of debt
throughout the portfolio. The Company's only financial liabilities as at 31
March 2025 are trade and other payables. The Company has sufficient cash
reserves to cover these in the short-medium term. The Company's cash flow
forecasts are monitored regularly to ensure the Company is able to meet its
obligations when they fall due. The Company's investments are level 3 and thus
illiquid and this is taken into assessment of liquidity analysis.
The following table reflects the maturity analysis of financial assets and
liabilities.
31 March 2025 < 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 5 years > 5 years Total
Financial assets
Cash at bank 9,595,425 - - - 9,595,425
Trade and other receivables 114,354 - - - 114,354
Fair value through profit and loss
Investments - - - 510,251,383 510,251,383
Total financial assets 9,709,779 - - 510,251,383 519,961,162
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities at amortised cost
Trade and other payables 666,939 - - - 666,939
Total financial liabilities 666,939 - - - 666,939
31 March 2024 < 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 5 years > 5 years Total
Financial assets
Cash at bank 55,306,092 - - - 55,306,092
Restricted cash 5,361,480 - - - 5,361,480
Trade and other receivables 519,853 - - - 519,853
Fair value through profit and loss
Investments - - - 481,659,515 481,659,515
Total financial assets 61,187,425 - - 481,659,515 542,846,940
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities at amortised cost
Trade and other payables 2,150,447 - - - 2,150,447
Total financial liabilities 2,150,447 - - - 2,150,447
Investments include both equity and debt instruments. As the equity
instruments have no contractual maturity date, they have been included with
the >5-year category. Additionally, the debt instruments have an original
maturity of 20 years.
• Market risk
Market risk is the risk that the fair value or cash flows of a financial
instrument will fluctuate due to changes in market prices. Market risk
reflects currency risk, interest rate risk and other price risks. The
objective is to minimise market risk through managing and controlling these
risks to acceptable parameters, while optimising returns. The Company uses
financial instruments in the ordinary course of business, and also incurs
financial liabilities, in order to manage market risks.
i) Currency risk
The majority of investments, together with the majority of all transactions
during the current period were denominated in Pounds Sterling.
The Company, via GSES 1 and its direct subsidiaries, holds three investments
(Kilmannock, Porterstown and Mucklagh) in the Republic of Ireland, an
investment in Germany (Cremzow), and several investments in North America,
creating an exposure to currency risk. These investments have been translated
into Pounds Sterling at year end and represent 64% (2024: 50%) of the
Company's fair valued investment portfolio. The Company regularly monitors its
exposure to foreign currency and executes appropriate hedging arrangements in
the form of forward contracts with reputable financial institutions to reduce
this risk. These derivatives are held by the Company's subsidiaries. Refer to
Note 16 for the sensitivity of valuations to changes in the exchange rates.
ii) Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk arises from the possibility that changes in interest rates
will affect future cash flows or the fair values of financial instruments. The
Company is exposed to interest rate risk on its cash balances held with
counterparties, bank deposits, advances to counterparties and through loans to
related parties. Loans to related parties carry a fixed rate of interest for
an initial period of 20 years. The Company may be exposed to changes in
variable market rates of interest and this could impact the discount rate used
in the investment valuations and therefore the valuation of the projects as
well as the fair value of the loan receivables. Refer to Note 16 for the
sensitivity of valuations to changes in the discount rate. The Company
currently has no external debt. The Company continuously monitors its exposure
to interest rate risk and where necessary will assess and execute hedging
arrangements to mitigate interest rate risk.
iii) Price risk
Price risk is the risk that the fair value or cash flows of a financial
instrument will fluctuate due to changes in market prices. The Company's
investments are susceptible to market price risk arising from uncertainties
about future values of its portfolio assets. The Company relies on the market
knowledge of the experienced Investment Advisor, the valuation expertise of
the third-party valuer BDO and the use of third-party market forecast
information to provide comfort with regard to fair market values of
investments reflected in the financial statements. The impact of changes in
unobservable inputs to the underlying investments is considered in note 16.
18. Net asset value per share
Basic NAV per share is calculated by dividing the Company's net assets as
shown in the Statement of Financial Position that are attributable to the
ordinary equity holders of the Company by the number of Ordinary Shares
outstanding at the end of the period. As there are no dilutive instruments
outstanding, basic, and diluted NAV per share are identical.
31 March 31 March
2025 2024
Net assets per Statement of Financial Position £ 519,294,223 £ 540,696,493
Ordinary Shares in issue as at 31 March 505,099,478 505,099,478
NAV per share - Basic and diluted (pence) 102.81 107.05
19. Share capital and reserves
Share Capital
Share premium Merger reduction Capital Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Total
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
At 1 April 2024 5,050,995 331,302,899 10,621,884 75,089,894 95,542,635 23,088,186 540,696,493
Dividends paid - - (27,586,473) - - (27,586,473)
Profit / (loss) for the year - - - - (3,177,919) 9,362,122 6,184,203
At 31 March 2025 5,050,995 331,302,899 10,621,884 47,503,421 92,364,716 32,450,308 519,294,223
Share Capital
Share premium Special Merger reduction Capital Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Total
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
At 1 April 2023 4,813,995 315,686,634 349,856 - 111,125,000 125,584,414 (1,295,054) 556,264,845
Issue of ordinary £0.01 shares: 20 December 2023 140,000 15,666,000 - - - - - 15,806,000
Issue of ordinary £0.01 shares: 25 March 2024 97,000 - - 10,670,000 - - - 10,767,000
Share issue
costs - (49,735) - (48,116) - - - (97,851)
Movement in
special reserve - - (349,856) - 349,856 - - -
Dividends paid - - - (36,384,962) - - (36,384,962)
Loss for the year - - - - - (30,041,779) 24,383,240 (5,658,539)
At 31 March 2024 5,050,995 331,302,899 - 10,621,884 75,089,894 95,542,635 23,088,186 540,696,493
SHARE ISSUES
Ordinary shareholders are entitled to all dividends declared by the Company
and to all the Company's assets after repayment of its borrowings and ordinary
creditors.
Ordinary shareholders have the right to vote at meetings of the Company. All
ordinary Shares carry equal voting rights.
• Share premium reserve: represents the surplus of the gross
proceeds of share issues over the nominal value of the shares, net of the
direct costs of equity issues and net of conversion amount.
• Special reserve: represents a non-distributable reserve
totalling the amount of outstanding creditors at the date of the Company's
approved reduction in capital. During the prior year, these creditors were
paid off and the remaining special reserve has been written off back against
the capital reduction reserve.
• Merger reserve: represents a non-distributable reserve
comprising any premium on a share issuance used as consideration for the
purpose of obtaining at least 90% equity stake in another company.
• Capital reduction reserve: represents a distributable
reserve created following a Court approved reduction in capital.
• Capital reserve: represents a non-distributable reserve of
unrealised gains and losses from changes in the fair values of investments as
recognised in the Capital account of the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
• Revenue reserve: represents a distributable reserve of
cumulative gains and losses recognised in the Revenue account of the Statement
of Comprehensive Income.
The only movements in these reserves during the period are disclosed in the
Statement of Changes in Equity.
20. Dividends
31 March 31 March
Dividend 2025 2024
per share (£) (£)
Dividends paid during the year
For the 3-month period ended 31 December 2022 2 Pence - 9,627,990
For the 3-month period ended 31 March 2023 1.5 pence - 7,220,992
For the 3-month period ended 30 June 2023 2 pence - 9,627,990
For the 3-month period ended 30 September 2023 2 pence - 9,907,990
For the 3-month period ended 31 December 2023 2 Pence 9,907,990 -
For the 3-month period ended 31 March 2024 1.5 pence 7,576,493 -
For the 3-month period ended 30 June 2024 1 pence 5,050,995 -
For the 3-month period ended 30 September 2024 1 pence 5,050,995 -
27,586,473 36,384,962
The table below sets out the proposed final dividend, together with the
interim dividends declared, in respect of the financial year, which is the
basis on which the requirements of Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act
2010 are considered.
31 March 31 March
Dividend 2025 2024
per share (£) (£)
Dividends declared for the year
For the 3-month period ended 30 June 2023 2 pence - 9,627,990
For the 3month period ended 30 September 2023 2 pence - 9,907,990
For the 3-month period ended 31 December 2023 2 pence - 9,907,990
For the 3-month period ended 31 March 2024 1.5 pence - 7,576,492
For the 3-month period ended 30 June 2024 1 pence 5,050,995 -
For the 3-month period ended 30 September 2024 1 pence 5,050,995 -
For the 3-month period ended 31 December 2024 1 pence 5,050,995 -
For the 3-month period ended 31 March 2025 1 pence* 5,050,995 -
20,203,980 37,020,462
* An additional special dividend of 3.0 pence per share is
expected when proceeds from the sale of the Big Rock Investment tax credits
("ITCs") are available for distribution.
21. Transactions with related parties
Following admission of the Ordinary Shares (refer to note 19), the Company and
the Directors are not aware of any person who, directly or indirectly,
jointly, or severally, exercises or could exercise control over the Company.
The Company does not have an ultimate controlling party.
Details of related parties are set out below:
DIRECTORS
Patrick Cox, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company, is paid a
director's remuneration of £79,000 per annum, (2024: £77,000), Caroline
Banszky is paid a director's remuneration of £59,000 per annum, (2024:
£57,000), with the remaining directors' remuneration of £49,000 each per
annum, (2024: £47,000).
Total director's remuneration, associated employment costs and expenses of
£330,118 were incurred in respect of the year with £10,395 being outstanding
and payable at the year end.
INVESTMENT ADVISOR, COMMERCIAL MANAGER AND ROUTE TO MARKET PROVIDER
The Investment Advisor, Gore Street Investment Management Limited (the
"Investment Advisor"), is entitled to advisory fees under the terms of the
Investment Advisory Agreement amounting to 1% of Adjusted Net Asset Value. The
advisory fee will be calculated as at each NAV calculation date and payable
quarterly in arrears.
For the avoidance of doubt, where there are C Shares in issue, the advisory
fee will be charged on the Net Asset Value attributable to the Ordinary Shares
and C Shares respectively. As at 31 March 2025 there are no C shares in issue.
For the purposes of the quarterly advisory fee, Adjusted Net Asset Value means
Net Asset Value, minus Uncommitted Cash. Uncommitted Cash means all cash on
the Company balance sheet that has not been allocated for repayment of
a liability on the balance sheet or any earmarked capital costs of any member
of the Group. At 31 March there was no uncommitted cash.
Investment advisory fees of £5,107,713 (2024: £5,542,596) were incurred
during the year, of which £nil was outstanding as at 31 March 2025 (2024:
£1,387,354 outstanding).
As of 1 October 2025 the fees payable under this agreement will be
substantially reduced to a fee calculated at 1% per annum of the average
(50:50) of market capitalisation and adjusted NAV. The revised investment
management fee would be subject to a cap of 1% of adjusted NAV. Investment
management fees would be paid quarterly and market capitalization would be
calculated as the average of the closing daily market capitalisation on each
business day in the quarter (Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury
are to be excluded).
No performance fees were accrued as at 31 March 2025, (2024: £nil). Based on
the amendments stated above, performance fee has fallen away effective 1
October 2025.
GSS, a direct subsidiary to Gore Street Capital Limited, provided commercial
management services to the Company resulting in charges in the amount of
£606,112 being paid by the Company (2024: £672,351).
During the year, five assets of the Company's GB portfolio have been onboarded
by the Gore Street Capital's trading arm, Gore Street Energy Trading ('GSET').
INVESTMENTS
The Company holds 100% interest in GSES 1 Limited through equity and a loan
facility. Transactions and balances held with GSES 1 for the year are all
detailed within note 11.
On 23 April 2024, further to the direct acquisition of the remaining 49% of
both Porterstown Battery Storage Limited and Kilmannock Battery Storage
Limited on 25 March 2024, the Company transferred these new equity stakes down
to GSF IRE Limited by way of an intercompany loan through GSES 1 Limited.
22. Guarantees and Capital commitments
The Company together with its direct subsidiary, GSES1 Limited entered into
Facility and Security Agreements with Santander UK PLC in May 2021 for £15
million. The Facility was increased to £50 million in June 2023, and further
increased to £100 million in November 2024. Under these agreements, the
Company acts as chargor and guarantor to the amounts borrowed under the
Agreements by GSES1 Limited. As at 31 March 2025, an amount of £56,547,933
has been drawn on this facility (2024: £5,535,292).
The Company had no contingencies and significant capital commitments as at the
31 March 2025.
23. Post balance sheet events
The Directors have evaluated the need for disclosures and / or adjustments
resulting from post balance sheet events through to 16 July 2025, the date the
financial statements were available to be issued.
The Board approved on the 10 March 2025, the issuance of an interim dividend
of 1 pence per share. This dividend totalling £5,050,995 was paid to
investors on 11 April 2025.
Post period-end, the Company has successfully entered into agreements for the
sale of the Investment Tax Credits ('ITCs') associated with its recently
completed US assets (Dogfish and Big Rock). Together, these transactions have
a combined consideration of c.$84 million net of insurance costs.
Post period-end, Santander, the lender of the £100 million Revolving Credit
Facility held by the Company's direct subsidiary GSES 1 Limited, syndicated
£50 million to Rabobank, bringing another leading lender to the energy
storage market into the facility.
There were no adjusting post balance sheet events and as such no adjustments
have been made to the valuation of assets and liabilities as at 31 March
2025.
2024 Financial Information
The figures and financial information for 2024 are extracted from the
published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 and do
not constitute the statutory accounts for that year. The 2024 Annual Report
and Accounts have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included
the Report of the Independent Auditors which was unqualified and did not
contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the
Companies Act 2006.
2025 Financial Information
The figures and financial information for 2025 are extracted from the Annual
Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 and do not constitute the
statutory accounts for the year. The 2025 Annual Report and Accounts include
the Report of the Independent Auditors which is unqualified and does not
contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the
Companies Act 2006. The 2025 Annual Report and Accounts will be delivered to
the Registrar of Companies in due course.
Neither the contents of the Company's webpages nor the contents of any website
accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's webpages (or any other website) is
incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
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