SSE is transferring nine cleantech investments owned by SEE Ventures into a new £95m Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) fund.
As part of the deal, SSE Ventures has become a major partner in the new fund.
According to SSE, the fund will have substantial fresh capital available for investment in the portfolio and also has agreement to add up to five further SSE investments to the portfolio in future.
The Environmental Energies Fund (EEF) is backed by four institutional investors, headed by Lexington Partners. The other investors are Hermes GPE, F&C Private Equity and Partners Group. The EEF will operate as a partnership between the financial investors and SSE, which has maintained a significant interest in the portfolio by investing in the fund.
SEP has formed a separate team to manage the fund, headed by partner Gary Le Sueur. He will be joined by Tony Robison, who previously worked for a number of SEP-backed portfolio companies, including oilfield technology company MTEM.
“SEP have a strong track record in helping innovative companies grow and mature,” said Gregor Alexander, finance director, SSE. “By moving our cleantech investments into the Environmental Energies Fund we can ensure the companies are able to benefit from the track record and expertise of SEP, draw upon the financial resources of the new partners and ultimately deliver a better return on our initial investment.
“We continue to believe that cleantech companies have an important role to play in developing new technologies and that is why we continue to be involved as a major partner in the EEF.”
“Energy-related technology investments have always been an area of strong interest for us and there will be synergies between our involvement with the new secondary fund and SEP’s standalone primary investment activity,” said SEP managing partner, Calum Paterson.