Schroders is in advanced talks to buy a significant stake in renewable infrastructure firm Greencoat Capital, it said this morning.
The fund manager confirmed the talks this after Sky News reported that Schroders was close to taking a 75 per cent stake for about £360million, with an option to buy the rest of the firm.
‘There is no certainty these talks will lead to any final agreement,’ said Schroders, which added that it will continue to ‘evaluate potential acquisition opportunities in line with its strategy to build a comprehensive private assets platform and enhance its leadership position in sustainability’.
A deal with renewables specialist Greencoat Capital will significantly expand Schroders’ ESG presence
Greencoat Capital, which has around £6billion under management, was put up for sale earlier this year to sound out prospective buyers. It runs funds including Greencoat UK Wind and Greencoat Renewables, as well as some specialising in solar assets.
‘The Board confirms that any such potential transaction would relate to Greencoat Capital LLP, not Greencoat Renewables, and is confident that, should any transaction proceed, it would not impact Greencoat Capital’s role as investment manager to Greencoat Renewables,’ the firm said.
The deal significantly expands Schroders’ presence in the area of ESG – environmental, social and governance – which has become popular among fund managers amidst a wave of sustainability-focused investments.
In 2019, Schroders bought a majority stake in BlueOrchard, an impact investment manager focused on emerging and frontier markets.
In June it debuted the Schroder ISF BlueOrchard Emerging Markets Climate Bond fund, a UCITS strategy offering daily liquidity.
Meanwhile the Schroder BSC Social Impact made its market debut a year ago, raising £75million at the time, falling short of its £100million target.
In its most recent share pricing it raised £10.8million, less than half of the £26million it said it could potentially raise.
It comes at a time when other trust launches were scrapped due to insufficient client demand, including the Liontrust ESG trust.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#B11B16; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#e22953; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {background-color:#e3e3e3; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#000} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
