Gore Street Energy Storage Fund is to acquire a controlling interest in a portfolio of projects totalling 160MW in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The projects comprise two 50MW facilities in Northern Ireland at Drumkee in County Tyrone and Mullavilly in Armagh, as well as two 30MW plants in the Republic of Ireland in Portersdown, County Kildare, and Kilmannock, County Wexford.
All the projects are expected to be operational by 2021.
Total funding requirements for the projects, including construction, acquisition and Capex, is £77m, Gore Street said.
The deal also includes an option to buy an additional 190MW of projects in Ireland.
Funding for the acquisition will come via a share offering to raise up to £50m, of which £31m is already committed by the fund.
Gore Street said that £6m of the £31m will be invested as part of the share issue and a further £25m is to be invested following the placement by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which is the controller and manager of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
Gore Street has also entered into an agreement with the NTMA for up to a £30m investment by the latter in the former.
Some £5m will be invested as part of the issue and up to £25m may be drawn down upon certain criteria being met.
NTMA’s subscription is conditional on, among other things, a minimum fundraise of £15m in the share issue.
Gore Street Capital is the fund’s investment adviser.
Gore Street Capital chief executive Alex O’Cinneide said: “Gore Street is delighted to have been chosen for NTMA’s investment commitment following a competitive review of funds focused on the energy storage asset class and this represents a transformational development for Gore Street.
“NTMA is one of Europe’s major renewable infrastructure investors and this represents a strong endorsement of our investment strategy and a clear commitment to a rapidly growing renewables sector by a highly active sovereign development vehicle.
“We intend to take advantage of the large and diverse array of opportunities that we see in our pipeline in the UK, Ireland and internationally.
“The investment in the Irish projects will represent one of Europe’s largest energy storage acquisitions and one of the largest of its kind this year globally.
“The anticipated returns delivered by the acquisition portfolio have the potential to be significantly greater than those targeted by the company in its IPO prospectus.
“Gore Street is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities in the country for the benefit of stakeholders and shareholders and this transaction further supports the adviser’s intention to grow the fund significantly over time.”