Earth Capital merges four firms into Sustainable Energy Holdings

• Earth Capital will implement a buy and build strategy for the new entity in the medium term
• Sustainable Energy Holdings will have a single dedicated management team
• The combination of the facilities will generate 3.89MW of base load renewable energy, enough to power 9,000 homes

Earth Capital announced on Wednesday that it has merged four of its UK portfolio companies to form Sustainable Energy Holdings (SEHL). The merged firms are Eccleshall Biomass (based in Eccleshall), Limelight Energy (based in County Durham) and two firms based on the Isle of Wight, Black Dog Biogas and Bright Light Energy. All four firms are low-carbon bioenergy generation assets.

SEHL will have a single dedicated management team and will be headquartered in Eccleshall. The combination of facilities will generate 3.89MW of base load renewable energy, enough to power 9,000 homes. Earth Capital that higher energy prices and a stronger focus on domestically produced, renewable, baseload energy will make bioenergy output increasingly important in a volatile energy market dominated by wind and solar energy.

“The establishment of this platform demonstrates how growth equity can find and finance appealing renewable energy solutions while also delivering a range of benefits to local and national stakeholders,” said Avent Bezuidenhoudt, head of investment and director of Earth Capital. “This platform’s growth also furthers the UK’s ambition to reach Net Zero by 2050 and sets an example as to how agriculture can hasten our transition to a low carbon economy.”

In the medium term, Earth Capital will look to build out SEHL’s performance and capabilities through a buy-and-build strategy, having identified a pipeline of possible opportunities to expand through the addition of high potential assets in the UK. Specifically, these will be within the biomass and waste sectors.

“The support we have received from Earth Capital both financial as well as strategic and operational has helped to create increased efficiency and significant value-add across the company,” said Craig Ibbetson, CEO of SEHL. “This will not only facilitate the next stage in our development and make a big, positive difference to the local communities we serve in terms of renewable energy, but also underlines the progress we’ve made over the last few years in a very challenging business climate.”

London-based Earth Capital invests in cleantech companies that look to address the challenges of climate change across the energy, food and water sectors. It was founded in 2008 and manages over $2.8 billion in sustainable private equity assets.