Coro Energy PLC’s (LON:CORO) 20% owned associate Ion Ventures Holdings Limited inked a portfolio transforming partnership deal with GLIL Infrastructure Fund LLP.
GLIL is forming a new vehicle, Flexion Energy, which will be funded to the tune of £150mln and will hold Ion Ventures existing portfolio of UK grid-scale energy storage projects. As it advances this portfolio, the new company targets 300 megawatts worth of assets after two years, rising to 1 gigawatt within five years.
Flexion will be 95% owned by GLIL. Ion Ventures will be assigned the other 5% and it will be ‘carried’ for future funding but will have the opportunity to increase its stake in Flexion. Ion Ventures has been retained to provide development, operational and asset management services to Flexion.
"We are delighted to note this new partnership between ion and GLIL, which validates Coro's initial ion acquisition and likely underpins a significant uplift in the value of that investment,” said chief executive Mark Hood. “The highly accretive transaction sees a material commitment by GLIL to Ion's UK energy storage portfolio, whilst securing a fully carried interest in the portfolio for Ion, and therefore Coro.
“We are excited in particular by ion Ventures' potential for further growth in South East Asia, in relation to which we retain a right of first refusal to invest in ion's South East Asian projects.
“We will continue to update shareholders in the coming months as we look to build on this success."
GLIL is an infrastructure investment fund with £2.5bn funds under management, backed by Local Pensions Partnership and Northern LGPS.