06 五月 2008

Climate Change Capital Group Ltd Attracts New Investors - Vivienne Cox Joins Board

(LONDON - 6th May 2008) Four established institutional investors are making a substantial investment in Climate Change Capital Group Ltd ("CCC"), it was announced today. The UK based investment banking group dedicated to the low carbon economy also announced that Vivienne Cox, executive vice president and CEO of Alternative Energy, BP and a recognised global leader in the energy and alternative energy fields, is to join the board as a non-executive director.

The new investors - Alliance Trust PLC, the FTSE 100 company and the UK's largest generalist investment trust, The Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK's second largest pension fund, SNS REAAL N.V., the Dutch based banking and insurance business and Mitsui & Co Ltd, one of Japan's largest trading houses - are investing £56 million into CCC. The money includes working capital to further grow the business and in addition the four are committing £20 million into a new fund of funds.

The new investors will own over 50 per cent of the business while employees, including the board and managers, will retain the majority of their shares and own approximately 30 per cent. This includes key managers and co-founders CEO Mark Woodall and Vice-Chairman James Cameron. Otto van der Wyck remains Chairman.

Mark Woodall said "We are delighted to welcome these new shareholders who recognise, like us, that combating climate change is an economic opportunity as well as a necessity. They, like us, are in this for the long term and are committed to our future plans and wish to play a part in the development and financing of new products and services in this fast growing sector. With the help of our new shareholders we can now seed our funds with capital. We are now in an even stronger position to deploy capital at scale to create wealth worth having."

Woodall added: "This transaction has also enabled initial investors to achieve liquidity on some of their holdings rewarding the risk they took. We are also pleased that most have decided to stay with us."

Otto van der Wyck said: "Vivienne Cox brings a lifetime of experience and knowledge of all facets of the energy business to our board. We look forward to benefiting from her advice, expertise and commitment."

Vivienne Cox said:

"I am honoured to be invited to join the board of Climate Change Capital. The investment banking sector is playing a vital role in the pace at which the low carbon economy develops so I look forward to contributing to the success of the company as it enters this exciting new phase in its growth."

Katherine Garrett-Cox, Chief Investment Officer, Alliance Trust PLC said:

"The investment in Climate Change Capital Group Limited is our biggest single investment in the low carbon sector and builds on the strong relationship we have with the group's experienced management team. We have been developing our involvement in this sector over the last three years but this is a significant step up in terms of investment because we believe this presents an opportunity for real growth over the longer term. As an investor we believe carbon reduction is a compelling investment theme that we are keen to explore. We are also seeking to invest efficiently in private equity by investing in funds and co-investing, where possible, to ensure we maximise our returns and reduce costs. We intend to commit more funding to the climate change sector in the future and with CCC in particular due to their leading market position."

Peter Moon, Chief Investment Officer, The Universities Superannuation Scheme said:

 "We believe that the low carbon investment arena is poised for considerable growth in the coming years, and Climate Change Capital is well positioned to make the most of these trends. As a long term responsible investor, USS holds the view that the fund should take steps to reduce the risks associated with a changing climate. Across all asset classes, we aim to incorporate into our investment process an understanding of the dynamics of climate change, and we make these themes an important part of our engagement with companies, policy makers, and other investors around the world"

Tsuneyoshi Doi, General Manager, Industrial Energy Division, Mitsui & Co Ltd said:

"We have been working in emissions reductions for some time now and have been working with CCC specifically since January 2007. Our investment in CCC and the new fund of funds will further enhance our efforts to combat climate change. At Mitsui we believe we have a responsibility to serve society, both locally and globally, and this investment furthers our capacity to implement a low carbon economy." 

Climate Change Capital Ltd. was advised by Lexicon Partners Ltd.

- END -

Enquiries:

Climate Change Capital
Daniel Cremin +44 (0)20 7939 5319 dcremin@c-c-capital.com

 

Notes to Editors

About Climate Change Capital Group Ltd

Climate Change Capital Ltd. (“CCC”) www.climatechangecapital.com is an investment manager and advisor specialising in the opportunities created by the transition to the low carbon economy. Its activities aim to make the world’s environment cleaner while delivering attractive financial returns.

  • Fund Management: Develops and manages funds that invest in companies, projects and technologies that provide products or services facilitating climate change mitigation or adaptation. CCC has over US$1.6 billion under management across the following alternative asset classes: Infrastructure and Carbon, Private Equity, Listed Equities, Real Estate, Land and Water. 
  • Advisory: Provides financial, strategic and policy advice to energy-intensive industries, financial institutions, clean technology companies and governments.

Through the combined talents of investment professionals, market specialists, and thought leaders we reconcile economic gain with environmental benefits without compromising implementation, discipline, client focus and accountability.We call this Creating Wealth Worth Having®.

Climate Change Capital Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

About SNS REAAL N.V.

SNS REAAL is an innovative service provider in the banking and insurance sectors with a focus on the Dutch retail market and on small and medium-sized enterprises. The product range consists of three core product groups: mortgages and property finance, savings and investments and insurance. SNS REAAL has a long history of commitment to Dutch society.
With a balance sheet total of € 103 billion (year-end 2007), SNS REAAL is one of the largest banking and insurance service providers in the Netherlands. The company has nearly 7000 employees. The head office is located in Utrecht.

About Alliance Trust PLC

A FTSE-100 company, Alliance Trust PLC heads an investment and financial services group. Based in Dundee, Alliance Trust has been investing since 1888 and is the largest generalist UK investment trust by assets listed on the London Stock Exchange. Through its financial services subsidiaries, it offers asset management, share dealing and investment wrapper accounts, such as ISAs and Self-Invested Personal Pensions.

About The Universities Superannuation Scheme ("USS")

USS is the second largest pension fund in the United Kingdom and the principal pension scheme for UK universities, acting for 378 universities and academic institutions. It has more than £30 billion in assets, and approximately 250,000 members. USS has a commitment to long-term and active share ownership. USS has initiated and participates in a number of collaborative public equity investor projects covering issues as diverse as climate change and the Pharma business model, to US corporate governance and executive remuneration.  USS currently has approximately 5% of its assets allocated to alternative investments, with a target to grow this allocation to 20% over the medium term. Within alternative investments, USS has made sizable commitments to private equity fund managers and is also making investments directly into private equity transactions.

About Mitsui & Co Ltd

Mitsui taps an expanding global network to access strategic information and harness business engineering capabilities. The Company's main businesses include sales, manufacture, export / import, international trade and services in the fields of: metal products and minerals, machinery, electronics and information, chemicals, energy, consumer products and services ?retail, foods, textiles & fashion, general merchandise and various services, and financial markets and logistics & transportation. Mitsui is also diversifying services, exploring for and developing natural resources, making commercial investments, developing technologies in new businesses and much more.

About BP

BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies with operations in more than 100 countries across six continents. The company's main businesses are exploration and production of oil and gas; refining, manufacturing and marketing of oil products and petrochemicals; transportation and marketing of natural gas; and BP Alternative Energy, a growing business in renewable and low-carbon power and next generation energy technologies.

Web site design & development by Essence Design