NIBC advises for GBP 190m Biomass Power Plant

The client
Tilbury Green Power (TGP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Express Energy (EE), which is majority owned by Dutch investment group BDI Investments. International commodity trader Cargill has a minority stake. EE has developed the 40 MWe power plant in the port of Tilbury on the River Thames, near London, that will eventually generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of some 60,000 homes. It will be fuelled by waste wood, sourced from the local catchment area and processed at an onsite facility. The plant is expected to be up and running in 2016.

The case
NIBC started working on this assignment in September 2012 in extremely challenging market circumstances, drawing on its credentials in arranging and structuring biomass and environmental infrastructure to guide the deal to completion. The successful completion is the result of our strong dedication to and belief in the project and confirms NIBC’s role as a leading player in the renewable energy sector.

The solution
NIBC Capitalisation Advisory and Infrastructure & Renewables announced the financial closure of the GBP 190-million Tilbury Green Power (TGP) project in late March 2015. NIBC acted as financial advisor on the sale and capital raising for the biomass-fuelled power plant. NIBC acted as the financial advisor to the project and its shareholders, providing advice on the optimal capital structure, raising equity and debt, as well as transaction advice including financial modelling, to facilitate the realisation of the project.

The project team included both Capitalisation Advisory and Infrastructure & Renewables teams from The Hague and London offices, and is an example of how NIBC uses collaboration across teams and geographies to achieve excellent client delivery.

Equity for the project has been provided by Irish utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB), the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), and a consortium of Mitsui subsidiary Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) and Aalborg Energie Technik (AET). Senior debt as well as interest rate and forex hedging facilities are provided by Investec, Rabobank, and Danish Export Credit Agency, Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF).

Express Energy Holdings (UK) and Cargill have sold their equity holdings in TGP as part of the transaction.