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IN THE past few days the United Nations and the Met Office have warned of the catastrophic effects of climate change, prompting environmentalists to call for dramatic action to curb energy consumption.
Wind, solar and nuclear power are all supposed to play their part but they are not the only solutions.
In the UK alone, up to 75 per cent of the energy that we produce is lost through inefficient transmission, distribution and end use so we spend more than we have to and make more than we need.
The SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust – known as SEEIT – is designed to help address this issue and deliver attractive, sustainable
SEEIT
returns to investors at the same time. SEEIT announced its intention to float on the stock market at the end of last month, hoping to raise £150 million. Applications must be in by Tuesday and the shares should start trading on December 11.
They cost £1 each and are expected to deliver an initial 5 per cent dividend yield, rising to 5.5 per cent by 2021.
The trust is managed by Sustainable Development Capital, an investment firm which has set up energy efficiency programmes for a number of large organisations, including St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, NCP car parks and Santander’s UK bank branches and offices. The firm establishes onsite energy plants, which allow users to bypass the National Grid and use energy more efficiently.
It also works on projects to reduce energy consumption, such as installing LED lighting and improving insulation.
These can have farreaching effects, cutting annual energy consumption and electricity bills by at least 50 per cent annually.
But the upfront costs can be high so SDCL finances the projects and its customers pay a monthly or yearly fee in return – much like mobile phone payment schemes.
The contracts run for up to 20 years so the income is steady and predictable and, unlike many infrastructure funds, there is no reliance on government funding or subsidies.
SEEIT will focus on programmes that are already up and running, there is a seed portfolio of 12 such projects and a pipeline of opportunities in the UK and overseas.
The trust is managed by Jonathan Maxwell, who has worked in the sector for more than a decade and worked on the flotation of HICL, the first London listed infrastructure fund, whose value has risen more than ten-fold over the past 12 years. MIDAS VERDICT: The energy efficiency market may seem niche but it is growing rapidly and projects can be costly and extensive – Santander’s move to LED cost £17.5 million and involved 90,000 new lights, for example. As a pioneer in this market, SEEIT is well placed to satisfy growing demand and deliver rewards to shareholders. A feelgood investment.