Blue Energy seals £250m wind farm deal
A CHESHIRE energy investor has agreed a £250m deal to buy wind farm developer RidgeWind from HgCapital.
Alderley Edge-based Blue Energy said it will build out RidgeWind’s portfolio and plans more acquisitions in the sector this year.
The company was co-founded by Mark Healey, whose family owns the Stadium Group which developed the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield with Paul Sykes.
Stadium cashed in when the centre was sold to British Land for £1.1bn in 1999 and has gone on to develop similar schemes in Europe.
Blue Energy has financed the RidgeWind deal with cash from shareholders and backing from Santander.
RidgeWind, founded in 2003, has a portfolio of 45 megawatt (MW) of projects in late stage construction, 132MW with planning permission, and a “significant” development pipeline. A typical coal-fired power station produces 600-700MW.
Blue Energy has already developed a 5MW solar farm in Wiltshire and is planning 155MW solar plant in Ghana. It already has 9.7MW of wind farms in development.
Chief executive Chris Dean said: “This transaction is an important milestone for the growth of Blue Energy and demonstrates our strong commitment to the UK onshore wind sector.
“Blue Energy has ambitious growth plans and we aim to progress further transactions of a similar nature in the UK wind sector this year. RidgeWind gives us a strong portfolio, and an experienced development team who have pioneered innovative community benefit schemes, which are so important in winning local support for wind farms.”
Tom Murley, head of HgCapital’s renewable energy team, said: “In RidgeWind we saw the core elements of value creation: a strong team with a focus on larger sites with the best wind resources and the ability to create and manage an industrial scale UK wind business. RidgeWind has delivered on that promise and we are confident that under Blue Energy’s ownership the company will continue to deliver.”
Two RidgeWind projects are about to become operational: Hall Farm, a 24.6MW wind farm near Beverley, in Yorkshire, is expected to commence generation next week and the 20.5MW Wandylaw farm, north of Alnwick, Northumberland, is due to complete and commence generation in March.
RidgeWind also has planning permission for four more wind farms: Beinneun, an 85MW project near Invergarry, Inverness-shire; Middlewick, 20.7MW near Southminster, Essex; Nutsgrove, 14.35MW near Peterborough; and Grange, 12.3MW near Scunthorpe, Lincs.
Blue Energy was advised by: Watson Farley Williams and Pinsent Mason (legal), White & Company and PWC (accounting and tax), Colville Partners (corporate finance) and SKM (technical advisers). HgCapital was advised by; Norton Rose (legal), Deloitte (accounting and tax), Sgurr (technical advisors) and Royal Bank of Canada (transaction advisors).
