TLT advises Innova on solar sale to Octopus

TLT has advised solar energy company Innova Energy on the sale of its 3.7MW portfolio of rooftop-mounted solar PV assets to Octopus Renewables. 

The 3.7MW portfolio comprises 57 rooftop-mounted solar PV assets in the UK, all of which benefit from Feed-in-Tariff government subsidy.

The transaction represents an important milestone for Innova Energy as it aims to achieve an attractive exit for its investors following the aggregation of a 65MW portfolio of UK solar assets over the last four years.

Corporate partner Antonia Silvestri led the TLT team, with support from corporate solicitor Hannah Wilson and real estate solicitor James Johnson. The team advised on the corporate transaction documents and provided due diligence support in respect of corporate, real estate and tax matters.

Last year, TLT advised Innova on the acquisition of a number of the projects in the target portfolio, including the £30m refinancing of its portfolio of UK rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV projects. The firm also advised on Innova’s acquisition of a 5MW operating solar plant powering the largest soft drink bottling facility in Europe.

Antonia Silvestri, corporate partner at TLT says:

“We are delighted to have supported Innova on another significant transaction. Our long-term relationship with Innova and prior in-depth knowledge of their portfolio meant that we were well attuned to their approach and were able to work quickly and effectively to support them with this transaction.

“The sale of this portfolio represents an important milestone for them and also demonstrates the continued health of the secondary market for accredited UK clean energy projects, which provides an effective mechanism for investors to extract profits at the operational stage of those projects.

“It’s clear that small-scale decentralised energy will continue to be crucial in getting more renewable capacity built in the UK and distributing the electricity generated locally, to help improve energy security and efficiency while also improving sustainability, and we expect to see increasing investor interest in this area.”

Denis Sorkin, investment director at Innova said:

"We ran a competitive sale process, which highlighted continued strong market demand for long-term subsidised, inflation-linked cashflows. We were delighted to have worked with Octopus and their partners Zestec Asset Management on this transaction, which delivered an excellent total return on these assets for Innova.

"We are grateful to the team at TLT for their expertise and diligence in helping us navigate the complexities of this deal and enable a smooth sale process."

Innova was also advised on the sale by Elgar Middleton and PKF Francis Clark. Vendor due diligence was carried out by Morgan La Roche, RINA and Corylus Planning and Environmental alongside TLT.

Octopus was advised on the acquisition by Zestec, Michelmore, Bishop Fleming and RINA.