The acquisition and launch is backed with equity from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and debt financing provided by Macquarie Asset Management managed funds.
The backing provides RELA with stable, long-term capital to scale in the UK and gives landowners and advisers confidence that RELA is a well-capitalised, long-term participant in the market.
The transaction provides immediate scale and proven execution capability for RELA’s UK expansion.
Following completion, RELA will manage one of the UK’s largest portfolios of renewable energy leases, positioning it as a leading counterparty for landowners and advisers.
Stuart Gourley, Chief Product Officer here at RELA, said completing the transaction was a major milestone for the business and the formal launch of its UK platform.
“Landowners want the flexibility to capitalise their long-term renewable energy leases to support succession planning, growth, diversification, debt repayment and property acquisitions,” Gourley said.
“Prepay is built specifically for that purpose, backed by leading global institutions and designed to support long-term land and estate planning objectives without changing ownership of the underlying land asset.”
Renewable energy lease markets are maturing rapidly across both Australia and the UK. As the sector grows, landowners increasingly want greater control over how and when they can use the value of their lease to support long-term farm, family and business plans.
RELA’s approach is landowner-first, built around landowners and their advisers, with capital structured around what landowners are trying to achieve over the long term.
Gareth Edwards, Senior Vice President at Macquarie Asset Management, said Macquarie was pleased to support RELA’s UK launch and the expansion of its Prepay product through a long-term, tailored debt financing solution.
“The financing solution offers our clients access to stable, inflation-linked cash flows supported by renewable energy generation leases,” Edwards said.
“RELA brings strong expertise to the market, and we look forward to working together to support landowners and advisers as the UK’s energy transition progresses.”
After more than two years adapting its Prepay product for the UK, RELA’s tailored offering enables renewable energy landlords in the UK to unlock future lease income upfront while retaining long-term ownership and control of their land.
This provides landowners with new financial flexibility to reinvest, expand, manage debt, diversify or support estate planning, while also giving developers a way to deliver added value to host landowners at no cost to their projects.
Bertie Radcliffe, Senior Vice President at Oaktree, said Oaktree was delighted to partner with RELA and Macquarie on the transaction.
“We look forward to supporting the growth and scaling of the platform over the months and years ahead,” Radcliffe said.
To learn more about RELA Prepay, including how prepayment works in practice and whether it may suit your circumstances, get in touch with the RELA team to arrange a confidential discussion with one of our specialists.
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