UPDATED: Octopus REIT confirms plans to raise £100M for new renewables investment across Europe – issue raised to £150M

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust has exceeded its target in a new share offering and decided to increase the size of the Issue to approximately £150 million (from approximately £100 million).

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, commented:”The team is thrilled with the result, raising £150 million highlights investors’ appetite for exposure to the renewable energy sector but also reflects the considerable merits of ORIT’s strategy. The money raised will allow us to invest into further assets as we continue to diversify ORIT’s portfolio, creating long term sustainable income for shareholders. We look forward to updating both ORIT’s existing and new shareholders accordingly as we progress.”

Octopus Renewables Infra Trust has confirmed plans to raise £100M for new renewable energy investment via a share issue, subject to agreement at an AGM planned in early July.
The Trust currently has 22 solar and two wind assets with an aggregate total capacity of 315MW. Two of the wind assets are due to become operational in H2 2021 and H2 2022. It has also conditionally acquired four solar and one wind assets.
Now it has identified potential acquisition targets with a value of £1.3 billion in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Finland. These include assets with a value of approximately £256 million now under exclusivity agreememts, including 71MW held in Octopus Managed Funds.
The trust is targeting higher growth by investing up to 5% of its gross asset value in plants under construction or construction ready. It also wants to reduce risk by diversifying its portfolio across different jurisdictions, different technologies, different stages of development and different revenues streams.