Exclusive: Downing to raise £200m for renewable energy fund
Downing Renewables and Infrastructure Trust (DORE) will today announce a £200m capital raise in order to invest in a range of renewable energy assets.
The fund will put money into a variety of clean energy sources, including hydro, solar, wind and geothermal power.
The assets in question will be spread across the UK, Ireland and northern Europe.
It has already secured £30m in investment, including £20m from Downing LLP and £10m from existing investors.
DORE will have the option to acquire a seed portfolio of £50m with remaining net proceeds expected to be deployed within 12 months.
Fund managers said that the fact that DORE was aiming at a diversified portfolio was a major advantage to investors, and set it apart from other trusts.
They added that this diversification was key to ensuring stable revenues and reducing seasonal variability.
Tom Williams, head of energy and infrastructure at Downing LLP, said: “By constructing a truly differentiated portfolio in this way, we reduce our dependency on any one renewable energy resource, any single jurisdiction and any one set of policies and regulations.
“We believe DORE will be ideally positioned to support the growing demand for renewable energy and deliver attractive returns to investors as Europe continues to tackle the climate emergency.”
Downing is an established name in the renewables investment market, having funded 166 investments into such assets since 2010.
It said that it had achieved an average rate of return of nine per cent on these.