Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has entered into an agreement to acquire the North Hoyle offshore wind farm. The acquisition process is expected to be completed this month.
North Hoyle is located 4-5 miles off the North Wales coast between Rhyl and Prestatyn and comprises 30 wind turbines, each rated at 2 megawatts. The wind farm was built in 2003 and declared fully operational in July 2004. North Hoyle was originally developed by Innogy, and formed part of the Zephyr portfolio from 2005.
UKW acquired the offshore wind farm together with the Slieve Divena wind farm, located in Northern Ireland, from institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management for a total consideration of approximately GBP 105 million.
The acquisitions will be funded by UKW’s revolving credit facility.
Following completion of the acquisitions, and including completion of the recent acquisition of a further 2.8% interest in Clyde for GBP 38 million, UKW said its total borrowings will amount to GBP 318 million, equivalent to 28% of Gross Asset Value (gearing limit 40%).