REG - SIMEC AtlantisEnergy - Acquisition of Green Highland Renewables

SIMEC Atlantis EnergyAnnouncement

31/10/2019 07:05

RNS Number : 7076R
SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited
31 October 2019
 


The information contained in this announcement is inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596 / 2014. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited is Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer of SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited.
 
31st October 2019
 
SIMEC ATLANTIS ENERGY LIMITED
("Atlantis" or the "Company")
 
Atlantis announces the acquisition of Green Highland Renewables
 
Atlantis, further to the announcement on 28 June 2019, is delighted to announce the acquisition of the Green Highland Renewables project development, asset management, operation and maintenance business ("GHR") from SIMEC Energy. GHR is a profitable business with high growth prospects which provides a complete range of management, operation and maintenance solutions and services to hydro generation asset owners throughout the UK.  GHR has consented more than 65 hydro schemes, built more than 45 hydro schemes and provides operation and maintenance services for more than 45 hydro schemes in the UK.
 
Highlights
 
·      Atlantis will acquire 100% of GHR for a nominal cash sum of £1.00 from SIMEC Energy
 
·      The GHR business is expected to deliver immediate, positive cash flow to Atlantis via long term asset management, operations and maintenance contracts on hydro assets throughout the UK
 
·      The GHR senior management team will be integrated into the Atlantis senior management team with immediate effect



·      GHR will retain its independent branding and will continue to service more than 45 hydro clients operating as GHR. Revenue growth will be achieved through the provision of services to existing Atlantis portfolio assets such as MeyGen and Uskmouth as well as other assets within the broader operational SIMEC Energy portfolio
 
·      An infrastructure fund has acquired all of GHR's operational and construction assets from SIMEC Energy and the infrastructure fund has entered into a long-term contract with GHR to provide management services and maintenance contracts on all of these assets
 
·      In addition to growing its O&M and asset management services agreement through the UK, the GHR project development team will continue to develop green-field and brown-field hydro opportunities domestically and abroad for Atlantis



 
The GHR business
 
GHR is headquartered in Perth, Scotland and has an operations base in Dingwall, Scotland with 23 members of staff.  GHR has consented more than 65 hydro schemes, built more than 45 hydro schemes and provides operation and maintenance services for more than 45 hydro schemes in the UK.
 
Revenue from long-term contracts to service is expected to be in the region of £4 million annually with immediate opportunities to grow the revenues by providing services to other hydro assets across the current GFG Alliance portfolio. Profits for the year ended September 2018 which were attributable to GHR's project development, asset management, operation and maintenance business were c.£200,000 and total assets for this business as at end of September 2019 were £4.3 million. 
 
The GHR management team intends to expand the provision of services to third party projects and has identified targets for increasing market share in the Scottish Highlands both within the existing SIMEC Energy portfolio and with third party asset owners. GHR has exciting prospects for future revenue growth from customer expansion throughout the United Kingdom and other green and brownfield project development opportunities domestically and abroad. GHR will provide Atlantis with the opportunity to integrate a highly experienced energy development team with the existing Atlantis project development unit located in Edinburgh, Scotland.  
 
The SIMEC group is a related party of the Company for the purposes of the AIM Rules by virtue of its status as a substantial shareholder holding 49.99% of the existing ordinary shares. The independent directors (comprising John Neill, Tim Cornelius, Andrew Dagley, Ian Wakelin and John Woodley) consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, that the terms of the acquisition are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
 
Tim Cornelius, CEO of Atlantis, commented:
 
"We are delighted to welcome the GHR team to Atlantis. We are building a highly experienced energy development and asset management team within Atlantis and GHR brings vast experience in project feasibility analysis, design, consenting, construction management, operations and maintenance and asset enhancement and optimisation. 
 
This restructured transaction is the right outcome for Atlantis. It provides us with more near-term cash to deploy on our flagship Uskmouth and MeyGen projects which will deliver the largest possible returns for investors. We have acquired a world class, cash flow positive, profitable hydro development, consulting and O&M business which we will integrate with our existing engineering services business in Scotland to create one of the most experienced project development teams in the UK. It will allow us to focus on high margin, development opportunities such as the Uskmouth conversion project where we can deliver enhanced shareholder returns.
 
We will retain all the key staff, IP and know how that has made the GHR business the first-class business it is today. The restructured transaction validates the commitment SIMEC is making to building a world leading project development company with the Atlantis management team and we are very grateful for their continued financial, commercial and supply chain support."
 
Jay Hambro, CEO of SIMEC Energy and Non-Executive Director of SIMEC Atlantis, commented:
 
"Today's transaction is a real win-win for both SIMEC and Atlantis. The GHR development team have a proven track record of value delivery and will sit well within the Atlantis portfolio. SIMEC is committed to building the Atlantis portfolio and this transaction will strengthen the existing management team, provide long term sustainable and predictable revenues for the group and strengthen the current Atlantis asset management services offering."
 
Stephen Hutt, Managing Director Green Highland Renewables, commented:
 
"We are delighted to be joining Atlantis who are developing some of the most exciting renewable energy projects in the UK at present. Our team will be an excellent fit. We are looking forward to working on some of their flagship projects such MeyGen and Uskmouth as well as building our own portfolio of new hydro development opportunities in addition to expanding our current asset management services offerings to more asset owners across the country."
 
Enquiries:
 



SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited


via FTI Consulting




Tim Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Dagley, Chief Financial Officer


















Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)


+44 (0)20 7894 7000




Rick Thompson
David Porter
Michael Boot


















J.P. Morgan Cazenove (Joint Broker)                              
Michael Wentworth Stanley                               


+44 (0) 20 7742 4000




 
FTI Consulting


 
+44 (0)20 3727 1000




Ben Brewerton
Alex Beagley
 







Notes to Editors
 
SIMEC Atlantis Energy 
 
Atlantis is the global developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy projects with a diverse portfolio of more than 1,000 megawatts in various stages of development. This includes a 77% stake in the world's largest tidal stream power project, MeyGen, and the conversion of the 220MW Uskmouth Power Station.
 
In 2017, we entered into a strategic partnership with SIMEC, a member of the GFG Alliance, to convert the Uskmouth Power Plant to use an end-of-waste energy pellet as fuel. A successful conversion will tackle the pressing issue of non-recyclable waste in the UK and will form the blueprint for other large-scale conversion projects across the globe.
 
We intend this to be the first of a number of acquisitions aiming to transform Atlantis into a diversified energy company of scale, owning development and generating assets across the sustainable energy spectrum in Europe, Asia and Australia, complementing our existing UK pipeline.
 
www.simecatlantis.com




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