Corporate finance firm Watersheds, which has an office in Swindon, has helped to fund an early stage, major renewable energy scheme with sites stretching from Yorkshire to Sussex.
Watersheds secured finance from private investors for the scheme run by Suffolk-based Farm Renewables, which will include eight new sustainable energy projects over five sites in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire Leicestershire, Sussex, and Kent.
The money will help get the sites ‘shovel ready’, including obtaining planning permission and securing connections to the National Grid before Watersheds, which also has an office in Northampton, secures a second round of funding to allow construction.
Four of the sites involve creating state-of-the-art photovoltaic solar panels to generate between 5 and 10 megawatts. Five of the sites will include anaerobic digestion plants – a natural process of decomposition used to turn farm-grown energy crops or food processing waste and other waste organic material into biogas.
Farm Renewables chairman Malcolm McAllister said: “Our goal is to develop, operate and invest in a variety of clean technologies, often in partnership with farmers and landowners, to make a significant contribution towards the UK’s renewable energy and carbon reduction targets.
“As a leading provider of independent development and advice on renewable energy, this project is enabling us to take centre stage.”
Watersheds also helped add to Farm Renewables’ team by bringing in several highly skilled and experienced people.
Watersheds partner David Fletcher said: “Attracting investment and talented individuals was quite a challenge because, whereas millions are raised during the construction of such sites, it is this early stage money that is the most difficult to raise.
“Pre-planning permission funding can be extremely difficult to obtain, so it was crucial to the success of this project.”
Farm Renewables managing director Nigel Goodhew added: “We required finance for the development stage to allow us to gain planning consent at numerous sites before the construction stage. We wanted the investment but we also wanted to ensure that we were able to gain maximum rewards from the capital gains on any exit. We turned to David and the team at Watersheds who looked after us and delivered a crucial result.”
Pictured from left: Nigel Goodhew and Malcolm McAllister of Farm Renewables
