Mountgrange fund sells renewable energy site to Malaysian firm

Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund (MoREOF) has sold a renewable energy site in the UK to KMK Power SDN BHD (KMK), a subsidiary of Malaysian company KNM Group Berhad.

The investment volume for the sale of the Poplar Investments Limited business came to £25 mln (EUR 31 mln). The sale equates to £455,000 per acre and follows acquisition of the site by MoREOF in September 2010 for £15 mln.

The 55-acre (22-hectare) site outside Peterborough , was the first of MoREOF’s two investments in the renewable arena. The site has been sold with the benefit of planning permission for the construction of a 79-megawatt energy-from-waste power generation plant.

Nick Berry, partner at Mountgrange, commented: 'We are delighted to have realised this opportunity through the sale of this site which has performed very well for our fund. Strategic land for renewable energy remains an interesting area as we look at ways to apply our property asset management expertise beyond traditional asset types'.

Mountgrange was advised on the sale by Jones Lang LaSalle and SLR, and took legal advice from Nabarro.