We are proud to announce that Ingenious investment Mindful Education has won Start-up Learning Provider of the Year at the 2018 Learning Awards. This marks another major milestone for the company, founded in 2015, which aims to improve the student learning experience by delivering a new standard in the digital delivery of education. Mindful Education was also a finalist in the Learning Technologies Award category.

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The accolades follow the news that the company ranked 19th in this year’s EdTech50, a nationwide survey celebrating the people, products and projects that are impacting education.

Read the full announcement

In November 2017, Mindful Education was also awarded Bronze for Excellence in the design of learning content – UK commercial sector: http://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/learning-technologies-awards-winners-2017

Ingenious Infrastructure is delighted to announce that our joint venture partnership with Australian solar developer, Stellata Energy (Stellata), has successfully secured planning permission for a 120MW large-scale solar PV farm in Merredin, Australia, the largest solar PV farm in Western Australia.

The granting of planning firmly cements Stellata as one of the leading solar developers in Western Australia. The news swiftly follows the recent announcement of the launch of the partnership. The partnership has committed to funding a pipeline of solar farms across the country, with a value in excess of AUD $200 million.

The Merredin Solar Farm spans 400 hectares in Western Australia’s central Wheatbelt and, once developed,  is expected to generate an annual output of 260GWh of electricity, powering around 42,000 houses per annum and delivering clean energy into the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

With construction scheduled to commence in the first half of 2018 and target for commissioning in Q1 2019, the project, which has a projected 30 year life, will be the largest solar farm to have received planning permission in Western Australia. The project is also the only grid connected solar farm to include planning approval for batteries and is designed to be battery ready.

The construction and operational phases of the Merredin Solar Farm will provide local employment opportunities and stimulus to local businesses, with an expected 200 people working on site during the construction period and further permanent and temporary staff to be employed during ongoing operations and maintenance.

Commenting on the venture, Troy Santen, Director, Stellata said: “Securing planning permission for the Merredin Solar Farm is another breakthrough for Stellata and Ingenious as we continue our efforts to bring large-scale solar energy to Western Australia. The Merredin Solar Farm will bring clean energy to thousands of homes across the Perth area, as well as the creation of hundreds of jobs in local communities. We look forward to replicating this achievement across our pipeline of solar projects.”

Ingenious Estate Planning (IEP), the discretionary fund management service (the Service) managed by leading alternative investment manager Ingenious, today announces two developments which will contribute considerably to the growth of its renewable energy capabilities. 

Through its investee company Ingenious Renewables Energy Enterprises Limited (IREEL), IEP has completed the acquisition of a 5MW ground mounted solar plant, Morton Wood Solar PV Plant (Morton Wood), from Solarig, the Spanish EPC contractor. The plant, located in Worcestershire, is projected to provide electricity to almost 1,300 average UK households and will save in the region of 2,200 tonnes of CO2 per year. It is also expected to receive 1.2 ROCs/MWh (Renewables Obligation Certificates) from the UK government enabling the plant, and subsequently the Service, to benefit from government-backed income for the next 20 years. Revenue will also be generated from the sale of electricity through a long-term bank approved Power Purchase Agreement with NEAS Energy.

This is the third ground mounted solar PV plant that IREEL has acquired from Solarig in just six months.  Ingenious Infrastructure’s portfolio of owned and/or managed ground-mounted solar projects now totals 120MW, producing over 115,000 MWh of solar power across the UK. 20MW of these projects are managed within the IEP Infrastructure portfolio. IREEL is currently negotiating the acquisition of another 10MW from Solarig.

The team also announces it has signed a £15 million long term finance facility with German bank, BayernLB. The agreement will unlock capital to aid the future development and acquisition of additional solar PV plants in the IEP portfolio.

Commenting on the deal, Karin Schramm, Senior Director, BayernLB, said “We have been working in partnership with Ingenious for a number of years, providing Ingenious Infrastructure with over £100 million of funding towards the development of renewable energy projects across the UK. With the team utilising the funding to deliver impressive projects such as Cowdown, a 40 MW solar PV plant in Hampshire, we remain confident in Ingenious’ collective experience and expertise as a market leader in this space.”

Commenting on both milestones, Roberto Castiglioni, Investment Director, Ingenious, said “The purchase of Morton Wood and the signing of the long term finance facility with BayernLB represent significant achievements for the IEP Infrastructure team as we continue in our efforts to bring renewable energy to thousands of households. Both transactions demonstrate our commitment to financing, developing and operating high quality investment opportunities in the UK which will bring value to shareholders and our IEP clients.” 

Ingenious Estate Planning (IEP), the discretionary fund management service (the Service) managed by leading alternative investment manager Ingenious, today announced that through its investee company Ingenious Renewables Energy Enterprises Limited (IREEL) it has completed the acquisition of a 5MW ground mounted solar plant, Morton Wood Solar PV Plant (Morton Wood), from Solarig, the Spanish EPC contractor.

The plant, located in Worcestershire, is projected to provide electricity to almost 1,300 average UK households and will save in the region of 2,200 tonnes of CO2 per year. It is also expected to be accredited to receive 1.2 ROCs/MWh (Renewables Obligation Certificates) from the UK government enabling the plant, and subsequently the Service, to receive government-backed income for the next 20 years. Revenue will also be generated from the sale of electricity through a long-term bank approved Power Purchase Agreement with NEAS Energy.

This is the third ground mounted solar PV plant that IREEL has acquired from Solarig in just six months, marking another milestone in Ingenious Infrastructure’s growing presence in the UK renewable energy market. The division’s portfolio of owned and/or managed ground-mounted solar projects now totals 120MW, producing over 115,000 MWh of solar power across the UK. 20MW of these projects are managed within the IEP clean energy portfolio. IREEL is currently negotiating the acquisition of another 10MW from Solarig.

Commenting on the deal, Roberto Castiglioni, Investment Director, Ingenious, said “The purchase of Morton Wood is another significant development for the IEP Infrastructure team. As well as providing solar energy to over a thousand households, the transaction demonstrates our ongoing commitment to financing, developing and operating high quality investment opportunities in the UK which will bring value to our IEP clients.”

Solas Éireann, the Irish solar energy developer, today announced it has entered into a joint venture with market leading renewable energy specialist, Golden Square Energy (‘GSE’). Solas Éireann shall commit over €100 million to the development and construction of solar farms across Ireland, and has a current pipeline in excess of 250 MW. The venture marks a significant milestone for Solas Éireann as the company establishes itself as one of the largest developers of solar farms in Ireland.

Together the venture partners bring a wealth of experience to the business, having successfully developed and constructed over 400MW of solar farms across Europe. Through the partnership, Solas Éireann’s resource and capacity will be boosted by GSE’s team of over 35 sector specialists, who have already deployed over £150 million in similar projects across the UK.

Solas Éireann is extremely proud of its Irish heritage and we are excited to be partnering with GSE in our quest to bring solar energy to our country. The partnership will drive forward the development of the farms, as well as the creation of jobs in local communities.

Simon Maguire

Director at Solas Éireann

Solas Éireann is a true pioneer in this market and we are confident that our collective experience will go a long way in establishing solar power as a viable and sustainable energy source across Ireland

Jason Murphy

Director at GSE

Oxon Renewables Limited completes anaerobic digestion plant acquisition.

Oxon Renewables Limited, a renewable energy generation company backed by Ingenious Renewable Energy EIS 2014/15, has purchased the development rights to construct an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant on land at Manor Farm near Alderton.

The rights to develop the plant were acquired from Qila Energy LLP and the project consists of an AD plant that will digest approximately 30,000 tonnes of organic material each year. This will produce circa 3.0m cubic meters of natural gas per annum which will be fed into the local gas distribution network for onward consumption by local industry and households.

The gas-to-grid AD plant is expected to be operational in 2016 with predictable, index linked revenue streams which will include FITs and RHI rates.

Imran Sheikh led the deal for Ingenious.

Ingenious Real Estate, a division of Ingenious, is delighted to announce the appointment of Peritus Corporate Finance as a new commercial partner for its real estate lending business.

As part of the arrangement, Dean Brown will join Peritus as Head of Origination and will work closely with Ingenious on a range of initiatives, particularly on the continued expansion of Ingenious’ residential lending platform.

Neil Forster, Ingenious CEO, commented: “This new partnership represents another important step by Ingenious in expanding our real estate activities. We have been impressed by Peritus’ vision and deal-making skills and look forward to working with Dean and the rest of the team in what promises to be an exciting year.”

Peritus brings an experienced team of 14 people covering a range of real estate advisory and origination services. In 2015, Peritus completed transactions worth over £450 million and expects to significantly increase activities in 2016.

Ingenious Real Estate invests in and arranges finance for real estate projects across a range of strategies through direct acquisitions, joint ventures, co-investment and managed funds. Its investment and operating philosophy focuses on non-mainstream opportunities with the potential to deliver particularly attractive risk-adjusted returns through expert execution and management.