EQTEC PLC (AIM:EQT) said it was unable to agree terms with the investor who wanted to buy its Deeside project, but has received interest from "bigger and better" potential funders for the project.
The AIM-listed company, its partners and the publicly quoted investor had signed non-binding heads of terms agreements back in September for the potential sale of the Deeside waste reception plant, anaerobic digestion facility and gasification facility.
But today EQTEC said it and its partners were unable to reach mutually acceptable commercial terms with the investor on a formal sale and so talks have been ended.
It said it has since responded to expressions of interest from “a number” of potential funders that are in the decarbonisation of waste and energy generation space.
EQTEC suggested any funding agreement would involve working with partners and customers to develop and fund the capital projects to deploy its own waste gasification technologies.
As a result of the Deeside sale falling through, the company will be unable to recognise £4.5mln of revenue related to the sale in its current financial year, meaning it now expects full-year revenue of €5-7mln and an EBITDA loss of €4-5mln.
Chief executive David Palumbo said: "On the one hand, it is disappointing to see this negotiation for purchase of the Deeside project fall through, with the consequential impact on our 2022 forecast.
“On the other hand, we view this setback as temporary and not a major block to progress with the project.
“We have already turned to other potential investors and committed ourselves to securing an alternative financing solution quickly.”
He said the company was increasingly hearing from “bigger and better organised companies with clearer reasons for working closely with new infrastructure technology providers such as EQTEC”.
“We remain committed to announcing the funding of Deeside in early 2023 and to moving at pace from there toward financial close and construction start."