Gore Street Energy Storage Fund Qtrly update

[daveh]

https://www.investegate.co.uk/gore-stre ... 00070511A/

GSF, London's first energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power, is pleased to announce its unaudited Net Asset Value ("NAV") for the quarter ended 30 June 2022.

NAV Update

As at 30 June 2022, the estimated unaudited NAV was 108.7 pence per share, representing an uplift of 1.6 pence per share (1.45%) from the adjusted NAV[1] as at 31 March 2022 (107.1 pence per share).

The Company's NAV during the period benefitted from closing the acquisition of four 10MW assets in Texas (ERCOT) along with strong performance across the operational assets in Germany and Great Britain. The construction assets in the portfolio continued to track spend in line with the budget.

During unaudited quarters, no updates are made to any long-term assumptions in relation to portfolio companies' valuations.

Dividend Declaration

In addition, the Company's Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per ordinary share for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 29 September 2022 and the record date 30 September 2022. The dividend will be paid on or around 21 October 2022.

[daveh]

Today they have announced a large storage acquisition:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/gore-stre ... 00055574E/

200MW Battery Storage Acquisition and Business Update

Largest MW Project Acquisition to Date

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (ticker: GSF), London's first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire from Kona Energy a 200MW construction-ready energy storage project (the "Project") in Heysham, North West England. The Project is one of the largest storage projects in Europe and GSF's largest acquisition to date. With this acquisition, GSF's portfolio will consist of 25 projects with a total capacity of 898MW in operation and construction in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US.

The Project has secured all land rights, grid connection and planning consent. The Project will connect to National Grid's main transmission network rather than the local distribution network, meaning it will operate independently from an intermediary distribution network operator. This will potentially open additional revenue opportunities while reducing capex and operating costs. This is GSF's second main transmission-connected site following the acquisition of the 57MW Enderby project in 2021.

[daveh]

Half year report:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/gore-stre ... 00039143J/

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund Plc

('GSF' or the 'Company')

Half Year Results

Amendments to AIFM agreement and Commercial Management Agreement

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (ticker: GSF), London's first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power in the UK and internationally, today announces its Half-Year Unaudited results for the six-month period to 30 September 2022.

Financial Highlights as of 30 September 2022

· NAV increased by 45% from £369.6 million1 in March 2022 to £534.79 million as at September 2022

· NAV per share2 increased 3.7% to 111.1 pence (31 March 2022: 107.1 pence)

· NAV Total Return of 4.65% for the six months ended 30 September 2022

· Market Capitalisation increased to £529.54 million as at 30 September 2022 (31 March 2022: £369.58 million)

· Quarterly dividends for the period of 4.0 pence per share, in line with the 7% of NAV target (a total of 4.0 pence in dividends were announced for the period. A total of 3p was paid during the period, 2p relating to the December 2021 quarter, and 1p relating to the March 2022 quarter) 4

· In April 2022, the Company raised £150.0 million in an upscaled and oversubscribed issuance

o Issued Share Capital (ISC) increased to 481.4 million (31 March 2022: 345.0 million)

· Earnings per share (basic and diluted) of 4.81 pence as at 30 September 2022 (30 September 2021: 4.20 pence)

Operational Highlights as of 30 September 2022

· Average discount rate increased by 1% across the portfolio due to higher interest rates generally in the UK, reflecting a weighted average discount of 9.3%. Short-term inflation assumptions have also been updated to reflect the current economic environment.

· Total portfolio (inclusive of grid expansion grants) increased to 698.2 MW (31 March 2022: 628.5 MW)

· Total operational assets increased to 16 projects, with a total capacity of 291.6 MW across four grids (31 March 2022: 12 projects with 231.7 MW capacity)

· Completed acquisition of three 9.95 MW operational and four 9.95 MW pre-construction assets in the ERCOT market of Texas, United States

· Successful commissioning of the 30 MW Porterstown phase I project near Dublin, Ireland. The asset commenced generating cash flow in July 2022 under a DS3 capped contract

· Final consents for phase II, adding an additional 60 MW, is expected to be completed before the end of the calendar year

· The operational fleet performed well during the period.

Post Period-end Highlights

· Acquisition of one of the largest energy storage assets in Europe; a 200 MW transmission-connected construction ready project in Heysham, North-west England. Post-acquisition, the total portfolio capacity increased to 898.2 MW

· As of the publication date, the Company's portfolio consisted of 25 projects, consisting of 898 MW of utility-scale energy storage assets across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Germany and the United States, of which 291.6 MW was operational, and 606.6 MW are at varying stages of construction

· The Company is actively reviewing opportunities in GB, Ireland, Australia, Continental Europe and the US. The total pipeline stands at 1.5 GW with 764 MW under exclusivity

· In the Irish market "EirGrid", the Company now has 310 MW of capacity, the largest portfolio of Irish assets available in the public market

· The Company's portfolio now benefits from geographical diversification across four high-growth markets, having entered the North American markets during the fiscal year

Dividend Payment

In line with the Company's dividend policy, it will pay a 2.0 pence per share dividend on or around 13 January 2023 to shareholders on the register on 30 December 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 29 December 2022.

Look to be a pretty good set of results

[MickR]

thanks for this, good to see them diversifying into different markets

[daveh]

Have announced acquisition in USA and construction milestones

https://www.investegate.co.uk/gore-stre ... 00057539N/

Significant Acquisition and Construction Milestone Achieved

75 MW / 150 MWh Texas Asset, the Largest Acquisition to Date in the US

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (ticker: GSF), London's first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power in the UK and internationally , is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a 75 MW / 150 MWh energy storage project (the "Project") located in Texas, United States. Following this acquisition, GSF's internationally diverse portfolio will consist of 26 projects with a total capacity of 973.2 MW in operation and construction across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the United States.

The project will be the Company's largest acquisition in the ERCOT Market to date and brings the Company's total US portfolio to 144.7 MW. The pre-construction project has secured all land rights, grid connections and planning consents and is expected to be of two-hour duration. The grid connection is scheduled for H1 2024, with commercial operations to commence shortly thereafter.

Construction Milestone Achieved

The non-contestable works, including grid transformers dedicated to the Stony project, were energised on the 23rd of January, on schedule for its expected operational start next quarter.

[TheMotorcycleBoy]

I hold, but what I don't understand is that the market is currently punishing them with quite high DY.

Matt

[daveh]

Another acquisition of storage capacity in USA (though it still needs building)

https://www.investegate.co.uk/gore-stre ... 00042204Q/

200 MW acquisition in California

First acquisition in CAISO grid, and the largest acquisition to date in the US

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (ticker: GSF), London's first listed energy storage fund supporting the transition to low carbon power in the UK and internationally, is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire Big Rock, a 200 MW / 400 MWh energy storage project (the "Project") located in Imperial County, California, United States from Avantus (the "Seller" - formerly 8minute).

Following this acquisition, GSF's internationally diverse portfolio will consist of 27 projects with a total capacity of 1,173.2 MW of operational and construction assets across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grids within the US, offering investors exposure to five different grid partners. Big Rock will be the Company's first investment in California and further diversifies the Company's revenue streams and geographic exposure. The Project will be connected to CAISO, one of nine independent system operators (ISO) in North America. The CAISO grid provides electricity to 80% of California and a small part of Nevada.

CAISO offers a particularly attractive opportunity for energy storage investment due to California's significant deployment of solar capacity and ongoing retirement of baseload thermal generation across the state, creating significant opportunities for services that aim to deliver stability to the grid. The asset will support CAISO's grid by providing ancillary services while also participating in the capacity market (Resource Adequacy) and wholesale trading.

The construction-ready Project has secured material land rights, planning consents and a grid connection scheduled for H2 2024. Commercial operations will commence shortly thereafter as a battery supply contract for all battery cells for the two-hour duration site, and engineering procurement and integration contracts have been secured.

[lansdown]

Qtrly update today:-

https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com/con ... 023/090323

Quarterly NAV and Dividend Declaration
09 March 2023

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, the internationally diversified energy storage fund, is pleased to announce its unaudited Net Asset Value ("NAV") for the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

NAV Update

As at 31 December 2022, the estimated unaudited NAV was 113.5 pence per share, representing an uplift of 2.4 pence per share (2.16%) from the NAV as at 30 September 2022 (111.1 pence per share).

During unaudited quarters, no updates are made to any long-term assumptions in relation to portfolio companies' valuations.

Dividend Declaration

In addition, the Company's Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per ordinary share for the period 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022. The ex-dividend date will be 16 March 2023 and the record date 17 March 2023. The dividend will be paid on or around 11 April 2023.

Lansdown

[funduffer]

I am thinking of investing in an energy storage company.

Gore street Energy Storage at nearly 15% discount (~7% yield)

Gresham House Energy Storage at nearly 8% premium (~4% yield)

Seems a significant difference for similar companies.

Any ideas on why?

FD

[MickR]

Hi

I believe the difference is that GSF pays out the majority of its earnings as dividends, whereas Gresham House pays out less as dividends and retains a larger percentage of its profits to reinvest in the business.

So with GSF, you will get a high dividend, but little share price increase. With GRID you get a lower dividend but hopefully some capital increase over the years

I have invested in GSF as I'm only interested in the dividends. My daughter bought into GRID as she has a different perspective

Mick

[daveh]

NAV uplift etc

https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... ss/7575844

Financial and Operational highlights for the year ended 31 March 2023



· NAV increased by 47.8% to £556.3m (31 March 2022: £376.5m).

· NAV per share increased 5.9% to 115.6 pence (31 March 2022: 109.1 pence per share), with a NAV Total Return of 12.3%.

· The Company has continued to achieve its dividend target from IPO, with a total dividend for the reporting period of 7.5p (2022: 7.0p).

· Portfolio capacity increased through acquisitions by 86.7% or 544.6 MW during the financial year.

· Operational capacity increased by 59.9 MW or 25.8% during the year.

· Portfolio revenue of £39.3m or £134,790 per MW/yr[2]. This was generated by 19 revenue streams across four different grids.

· EBITDA of the operational portfolio increased by 19.1% to £27.8m (31 March 2022: £23.3m). This represents an EBITDA of 5.77 pence per share.

· During the reporting period, 63.5% of the portfolio's EBITDA was secured outside Great Britain.

· The Company raised £150m in an oversubscribed issuance in April 2022.

edit to add dividend info:

Dividend Declaration

The Board has approved a fourth interim dividend of 1.5 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the period ending 31 March 2023 to 7.5 pence per share (compared to 7 pence per share for the full year ended 31 March 2022), in line with the Company's progressive Dividend Policy. The ex-dividend date will be 29 June 2023 and the record date 30 June 2023. The dividend will be paid on or around 17 July 2023.

Any such dividend payment to Shareholders may take the form of either dividend income or "qualifying interest income", which may be designated as an interest distribution for UK tax purposes and, therefore, subject to the interest streaming regime applicable to investment trusts. Of this dividend declared of 1.5 pence per share, 1.5 pence is treated as qualifying interest income.

I'm not sure I understand the last bit. Does that mean that this dividend counts as interest and (if not held in an ISA) would count towards the £1000 interest allowance and if that was used up would be taxed at your marginal tax rate rather than the dividend rate?

[stacker512]

HYPTUSS shows GSF at -278.1 latest P/E. Does this suggest they are struggling with cashflow and losing money?
There's also a notice this morning that they are increasing their debt facility.

I hold, but should this be a cause for concern?

[daveh]

HYPTUSS shows GSF at -278.1 latest P/E. Does this suggest they are struggling with cashflow and losing money?
There's also a notice this morning that they are increasing their debt facility.

I hold, but should this be a cause for concern?

The info is here:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... m-/7590178

Debt facility increased to £50m with an accordion option of up to 30% of GAV

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, the internationally diversified energy storage fund, is pleased to announce that it has upsized its existing revolving credit facility ("RCF") with Santander from £15m to £50m.

The Company has successfully secured £35m of incremental debt arranged and syndicated between Santander UK and Banco Santander. Pricing for the £50m facility remains unchanged at 300 basis points over SONIA.

If the increased RCF is fully utilised, the Company's debt would be equivalent to c.8% of GAV.

The four-year term of the facility extends until 2027, providing the Company with increased financial flexibility, which will be used to support the development of the Company's construction portfolio and provides further headroom to explore attractive pipeline opportunities. The facility includes an accordion option to increase beyond £50m to up to 30% of Gross Asset Value ("GAV").

The Company is also separately exploring project-level financing options in USD for its Big Rock asset in California. The asset's revenue profile is expected to be underpinned by a long-term fixed contract, accounting for up to 40% of project revenue, making it an attractive candidate to introduce project-level debt at competitive pricing levels.

Notwithstanding the debt headroom permitted under the Company's gearing policy, net debt is not expected to exceed £150m, or c.21% of GAV over the next 18 months based on funding requirements for constructing the 522 MW of capacity targeting energisation by December 2024 and including milestone payments for all portfolio assets with energisation targets beyond this 18-month period. The Company continues to review the build-out plan of its construction portfolio while monitoring the current interest rate environment and taking cognisance of yesterday's Bank of England interest rate increase of 50bps. The Company's cash balance as of 31 March 2023 was £123.7m which is sufficient to meet all existing contractual obligations.

As I understand it the company is still building out a number of its assets so it requires debt to for the assets that are not yet bringing in profits. You would have to look at the actual accounts to see whether the PE ratio quoted is correct. I wouldn't trust the data from HYPTUSS for PE.

If you look at the NAV update i quoted you will see they have 16 operational projects, 1 being energised, and 12 under construction/ in development and the former are generally small and the in construction ones larger.

[stacker512]

I was looking for the Annual Report and couldn't find one on their website: https://www.gsenergystoragefund.com/con ... literature

The previous year's Annual Report is dated for end of March 2022, but so far none for 2023?

[daveh]

Portfolio and Trading Update
https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... te/7615634

nergisation of 79.9 MW asset scheduled for July, trading update and a potential increase to ITC

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, the internationally diversified energy storage fund, is pleased to announce the scheduled energisation of its 79.9 MW asset, "Stony", a positive portfolio update and potential qualification for increased ITC benefit for its US assets.



Energisation of 79.9 MW asset

The Company is pleased to announce that the energisation process of the Stony asset in Milton Keynes, GB, with a capacity of 79.9 MW, has been scheduled with National Grid ESO to begin on 31 July 2023. The process is expected to take up to two weeks to complete. Once operational, the asset will bring the Company's total operational portfolio to 371.5 MW.

Based on data provided by Modo Energy, the Company's Great Britain (GB) assets generated an average revenue of £7.62 / MW / hr for the 6-month period from January - June 2023. This compares favourably to the GB average for a one-hour system, which was reported to be £6.83 / MW / hr during the same period. Two-hour systems were reported to have generated, on average, just 7.6% more per MW than the Company's average during this period. Given the material increased capex required to build the additional duration, this supports the Company's view of optimal duration in this market.

[daveh]

Finals:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcem ... ts/7635539

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc

(the "Company" or "GSF")

Full Year Results

Internationally diversified portfolio supports strong growth in NAV, EBITDA and best-in-class revenue generation

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc, the internationally diversified energy storage fund, is pleased to announce its Audited Full Year results for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Performance highlights for the year ended 31 March 2023:

· NAV increased 47.8% to £556.3m (FY 2022: £376.5m).

· NAV per share increased 5.9% to 115.6 pence (FY 2022: 109.1 pence).

· Total NAV return of 12.3% and 48% since 31 March 2022 and IPO, respectively (FY22: 13.1% and 34.2%).

· £39.3m in revenue was generated during the reporting period (FY 2022 £29.3m), averaging £135,000 per MW/yr. Over the 2022 calendar year, the Company achieved a consistently high average revenue of £157,000 per MW/yr.

· EBITDA of the operational portfolio increased 19% to £27.8 million (FY 2022: £23.3 million), with 63.5% secured outside Great Britain.

· Dividends paid during the 12-month period of 7 pence per share, with an operational dividend cover of 0.90x. This was achieved with c.25% of the Company's portfolio operational at the period end.

· Dividends declared for the period of 7.5 pence per share.

· Weighted average discount rate increased to 10.1% (FY 2022: 8.3%).

· Portfolio revenue curves increased during the period, largely driven by the Company's geographically diverse portfolio.



Deployment and fundraising

· The Company raised £150m in an oversubscribed issuance in April 2022.

· As of 31 March 2023, the Company had drawn down £nil from its Debt Facility.

· The Company remains fully funded to meet all contractual obligations and EPC payments over the next 18 months, utilising equity and its existing debt facility.

· Operational assets producing income increased to a total capacity of 291.6MW (FY 22: 231.7MW).

· Portfolio expansion continued with sizeable new projects acquired in attractive new markets, offering unique diversification and differentiation:

· 144.65 MW across 8 assets in Texas, US

· 200 MW construction asset in GB

· 200 MW construction-ready asset in California, US

· The Company's geographical split is now: 42% in GB, 27% in Ireland, 12% in Texas, 17% in California and 2% in Germany.


Post Period-end Highlights:

· The energisation of the Stony asset, with a capacity of 79.9 MW, has been scheduled with National Grid ESO for July-end 2023.

· Post reporting period, the Company increased its existing Debt facility from £15m to £50m, with an accordion option of up to 30% of Gross Asset Value ("GAV").

Interesting results. The dividend is uncovered (0.94x) but it looks like income should start ramping up quite quickly as more and larger projects start coming online.

[stacker512]

Finals:
Interesting results. The dividend is uncovered (0.94x) but it looks like income should start ramping up quite quickly as more and larger projects start coming online.

Thanks for posting the Finals here. (I was debating posting them earlier but wasn't sure if I was going to do it correctly )

The dividend cover - HL reports that the cover for previous years were -0.05, -0.25, 1.68, -0.84 for the years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 respectively. It suggests that their current cover of 0.94 is one of the more decent they have had in recent times. Do you think this is something to worry about? (I hold GSF).

I also wonder if 57% of GSF's power generation portfolio being in "Pre-construction and construction phase" is good. Are they trying to do too much or is this roughly expected in this field? (I obviously would benefit in reading the full report properly)

[Itsallaguess]

‎
I've looked at Gore Street Energy Storage (GSF) a few times over the years, and have always been put off by the huge increase in 'Shares in Issue' over recent years -

31st March 2019 - 30,600,000
31st March 2020 - 52,548,815
31st March 2021 - 143,871,681
31st March 2022 - 345,035,842
31st March 2023 - 481,399,478

It's always felt to me like there's a large underlying element of 'running hard to stand still' in an investment with that amount of dilution, especially where an investor might be looking for long-term reliable income, and it's put me off the types of infrastructure funds that have to operate like that.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[UncleEbenezer]

‎
It's always felt to me like there's a large underlying element of 'running hard to stand still' in an investment with that amount of dilution, especially where an investor might be looking for long-term reliable income, and it's put me off the types of infrastructure funds that have to operate like that.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Surely that's to support buying more assets in a growing sector? Without the debt levels of a Thames Water!

I don't hold Gore Street, but I hold quite a lot of sector peers in the Renewable Infrastructure space, and raising ever more funds is the norm! The exception was the VCT players (now profitably wound up) after the rule changes of about a decade ago forbad them new investments in the sector!

[daveh]

‎
It's always felt to me like there's a large underlying element of 'running hard to stand still' in an investment with that amount of dilution, especially where an investor might be looking for long-term reliable income, and it's put me off the types of infrastructure funds that have to operate like that.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Surely that's to support buying more assets in a growing sector? Without the debt levels of a Thames Water!

I don't hold Gore Street, but I hold quite a lot of sector peers in the Renewable Infrastructure space, and raising ever more funds is the norm! The exception was the VCT players (now profitably wound up) after the rule changes of about a decade ago forbad them new investments in the sector!

Yes, that's my view. I'd much rather they raised equity to buy/develop new assets than take on a lot of debt. If the investments are successful I'm going to reap the benefit in form of the dividend and an increasing share price. The profits aren't going to go to servicing and paying off debt. Equity also has the advantage that if necessary you (the company) can stop paying dividend for a period. Not being able to service the debt can be the end of the company.