Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (LSE:GRID) shares rose 6.7% to 85.6p after the company said it had signed Sale and Purchase Agreements for two battery projects totalling 297MW/594MWh.
Ocker Hill is a 240MW/480MWh 2‑hour BESS in Wednesbury with planning permission, protected status under grid reform, a signed floor contract for the first 12 years and an expected connection date of October 2029, while Lister Drive is a 57MW/114MWh 2‑hour BESS in Liverpool with secured Capacity Market contracts and an expected connection date of September 2029.
Both form part of the pipeline of GRID, the UK's largest fund investing in utility-scale battery energy storage systems. With Monet's Garden, Cockenzie and Elland 2 already acquired, the two SPAs mean GRID has now acquired or conditionally acquired 1,174MW/2,348MWh of new projects to be built over the coming years as part of its growth strategy.
To manage cash flow, the company has negotiated deferred consideration mechanics with the Gresham House Group that provide for payment for the six new projects over a four-year period once certain conditions are satisfied.
The Gresham House Group will pursue energy storage projects outside the UK and Ireland through other Gresham House mandates, and GRID has agreed to waive its prior right to be first offered those overseas opportunities while its right of first refusal on the Gresham House Group's UK and Ireland pipeline remains unchanged.
"We are hugely excited about the growth potential of the company over the next few years," said John Leggate CBE, Chair.
