Greencoat UK Wind acquires Church Hill and Crighshane wind farms

Greencoat UK Wind is pleased to announce that it has acquired Church Hill and Crighshane wind farms from the Irish Infrastructure Fund, a fund jointly managed by AMP Capital and Irish Life Investment Managers, and from the Viridian Group, who held a minority stake, for a total consideration of £87 million, including the prepayment of existing project finance debt facilities.

Church Hill is located 16 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and has a capacity of 18.4MW. Crighshane is located 20 miles north west of Omagh in County Tyrone and has a capacity of 32.2MW. Both wind farms are equipped with Enercon E70 turbines and have been operational since July 2012 (accredited to receive 1 ROC per MWh).

Tim Ingram, Chairman of UKW, commented:

We are very pleased with our latest acquisitions - high quality ROC accredited wind farms with a strong operating track record, which will deliver an attractive investment return to our investors. The portfolio as a whole now provides sufficient electricity to power over 750,000 homes.

The acquisition was funded by UKW's revolving credit facility (£80 million) plus reinvestment of group cash (£7 million). Following the acquisition, UKW's total borrowings amount to £480 million (£400 million term debt plus £80 million under the revolving credit facility), equivalent to 27% of Gross Asset Value (gearing limit 40%).