A London infrastructure investment firm has made its first foray into hydro-electricity with the acquisition of a Scottish renewable-energy company for an undisclosed fee.
Green Highland Renewables (GHR), which has offices in Perth and Dingwall, has been developing run-of-river hydro schemes since 2007, gaining planning consent for more than 50 hydro schemes with approximately 40 megawatts (MW) capacity.
Under the ownership of Ancala Partners, GHR will continue to expand its development portfolio and operational assets, a spokesman for the company said yesterday.
GHR will also retain its name and management team, he added.
Ancala takes over from shareholders including technology investor Scottish Equity Partners and Scottish Enterprise, investment arm of the Scottish Investment Bank.
Records published by Companies House show GHR development director Alexander Reading and chief operating officer Ian Cartwright held shares in the company as of February 2015. GHR founder Alistair Riddell and former chairman Ian Wotherspoon were also listed as shareholders.
The company had net assets worth £2.4million as of September 30, 2014, up £108,000 year-on-year.
Founded in 2010, Ancala invests in mid-market, low risk, brownfield infrastructure assets, typically in the district heating, energy, telecommunications and transport sectors.
An Ancala spokeswoman said the company was looking forward to “being part of GHR’s continued development and growth”.
GHR chief executive Richard Round, said: “This is very positive news for Green Highland Renewables and the small-scale hydro sector in general.
“Well-constructed and financed hydro schemes offer stable, long-term returns, and this is clearly attractive to institutional investors.
“Ancala Partners has given us a strategic mandate to secure further development opportunities in order to grow our operational asset base.
“Their backing will enable us to build on our portfolio both organically and through acquisition.”
GHR has undertaken community-driven projects, including a 465 kilowatt scheme on the Morvern peninsula in the West Highlands which came on stream in February.
Morvern community groups had put £30,000 towards the Abhainn Shalachain River scheme, which is producing power for the National Grid. In return, they receive royalty payments in addition to a community benefit of £5,000 per MW per annum.
A spokesman for Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Scotland has among the highest potential in the world for renewable energy and provides the ideal environment for innovation and company growth, which we aim to build further upon.
“We welcome this announcement, which demonstrates the attractiveness of Scotland as a place to invest in renewables and will enable Green Highland Renewables to further develop hydro systems in Scotland.
“We look forward to engaging with Ancala Renewables in due course and will continue to press the UK Government to review the FIT hydro mechanism to correct what the industry have identified as a manifest defect.”