German renewables investor sets sights on LSE for market listing
German investor Aquila is considering the London Stock Exchange as a potential venue for a market listing of its renewable energy fund within the next two months.
Aquila, which is worth €8.2bn, expects to raise around £260m via the float which it would then channel into its existing European renewables fund.
The renewables sector was proving popular among investors with shares of such funds trading at an average 10% premium over net asset value (NAV) as investors, enticed by dividend yields of roughly 5%, warmed to the increasing call for initiatives aimed at solving the world's environmental challenges.
Already in April, US Solar Fund (USF) had raised $200m (£153m) in its initial public offering (IPO).
Aquila’s proposed fund would invest in a diversified portfolio including solar, onshore wind and hydroelectric power assets in continental Europe, as well as the UK and Ireland.
It would target a total annual investment return of between 6% and 7.5% with dividends set to eventually account for five percentage points of those returns, although the yield would start from 3% in 2019, rising to 4% in 2020 as it invests shareholders’ money, reported Citywire on Tuesday.
Numis, which was chosen as the corporate broker to handle the transaction, said the new fund would use less leverage than existing listed renewables funds.