Schroders Greencoat to pay £700m for Toucan in back-door Thurrock Council refund
Schroders Greencoat is expected to buy up insolvent solar energy firm Toucan Energy next week, reports suggest.
According to Sky News’ Mark Kleinman, Schroders Greencoat — the specialist renewables and energy transition infrastructure manager of Schroders Capital – will pay £700m for the stricken firm.
The buy will trigger paybacks of hundreds of millions of pounds to Thurrock Council who sunk as much as £650m into Toucan’s solar projects over a four-year period, Sky understands.
Schroders declined to comment on the rumours on Friday.
Thurrock Council issued a section 114 bankruptcy notice in December 2022 after financial issues and failed investments, including that of Toucan, lumped the Essex council with debts of about £1.3bn — some of the largest ever recorded by a local authority.
At the outset of this month, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced it had launched an investigation into the conduct of “a member” in relation to the bankrupted Thurrock Council’s accounts.
Investment firm Schroders bought a majority stake in Greencoat Capital, for £358m in 2021 that brought £6.7bn assets under management under Schroders’ wing.
Alongside wind and solar projects, the firm announced last month that it had received government subsidies to enter the hydrogen development market with three projects set to undergo development in the coming year.