Octopus Renewables Invests in Floating Wind Developer

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc has invested EUR 7.5 million into Simply Blue Holdings Limited, the parent company of the Simply Blue Group.

Simply Blue Group has developed a pipeline of over 9 GW of floating offshore wind projects to-date, primarily in the waters of the UK and Ireland.

With a background in marine development, the developer also has interests in wave energy and ancillary interests in sustainable aquaculture.

The company is headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with offices in the UK and the US.

”I am pleased to announce ORIT’s first investment into a renewable energy developer, as well as our first investment in the fast-growing offshore floating wind sector. This investment will further diversify ORIT’s potential to create capital growth and may in time bring opportunities to invest in construction-ready assets arising from SBG’s development pipeline,” Phil Austin, Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc, said.

ORIT’s investment, which is a co-investment alongside another fund managed by Octopus Renewables Limited, entitles it to an around 12 per cent interest in Simply Blue Group.

In total, Octopus Renewables invested EUR 15 million in Simply Blue Group and is now a 24 per cent shareholder in the company.

Chris Gaydon, Investment Director at Octopus Renewables, said: ”Floating offshore wind is a particularly exciting renewable energy sector which is expected to undergo rapid growth over the years to come and is a key part of government decarbonisation plans in a number of European countries. We believe Simply Blue is very well positioned to capture this growth.”