An infrastructure investor owned by Schroders, the fund administration behemoth, is in pole place to purchase a photo voltaic farms operator that acquired a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of kilos from a scandal-hit native authority.
Sky News understands that Schroders Greencoat has turn into the main contender to accumulate Toucan Energy, which collapsed into administration precisely a yr in the past.
It was unclear this weekend whether or not Schroders Greencoat was in formal exclusivity to purchase the portfolio of greater than 50 photo voltaic parks.
Interpath Advisory, which is overseeing the administration course of, appointed KPMG – the accountancy agency from which it was spun out – to deal with the public sale.
Other bidders which had been in competition till not too long ago included GLIL and CKI, the Hong Kong-based infrastructure large.
Toucan’s collapse got here after Thurrock Council had invested greater than £650m into the enterprise over a four-year interval.
Although the native authority will obtain a major reimbursement from the sale of the photo voltaic property, Toucan’s collapse might but price taxpayers tens and even a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of kilos.
Thurrock’s monetary mishaps echo these of different councils which have invested in ill-fated non-public sector firms, together with a major quantity within the vitality sector.
The timetable for a deal being accomplished was additionally unclear.
A spokesman for Schroders declined to remark.
Source: information.sky.com”