Assets to hit the market as solar energy firm enters administration

Toucan Energy Holdings 1 Ltd., one of the UK’s largest solar farm owners, has fallen into administration after concluding that the scale of its liabilities exceeded its assets. The company, which owns a portfolio of 53 solar farms, has borrowed £655 million from Thurrock Council over the past four years.

Jim Tucker, David Pike and Kristina Kicks from Interpath Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators to the company and are now seeking to bring its assets (including the solar farms) to market in a sales process.

Interpath Advisory Managing Director and joint administrator Jim Tucker said: “This is a significant portfolio of high-quality renewable generation assets which, as the UK accelerates its transition towards a green and renewable future, have an important role to play in the nation’s energy security strategy.”

“The underlying solar park operations are not in administration and continue to operate as normal. Our immediate priority is to put in place the stable platform at the top of the group which will reassure stakeholders that it is business-as-usual in the underlying operations.”

Tucker added: “Given their significant underlying cash generation, we expect considerable interest in the assets. In the coming months we will work closely with our M&A advisors, as well as Thurrock Council as the Company’s major creditor, to bring these assets to market in a full, unhurried, sales process.

“Our proposals to creditors will be published within eight weeks of our appointment, at which time we will provide more details about our strategy for the administration.”

In September, former Thurrock Council leader Rob Gledhill resigned following the government’s appointment of a commissioner to take over the authority after it was found to have debts of £1 billion. The investments in Toucan Energy had previously been described by the council’s opposition leader, John Kent, as “a scandal of huge proportions”.

Following the appointment of administrators and the announcement that Toucan’s assets will be sold off, the council’s current leader, Mark Coxshall, said that the process would seek to “maximise recovery” for the area’s taxpayers.


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