Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT) has announced that it has reached a new milestone in the sale of its UK portfolio.
Yesterday (19 December), HEIT confirmed that it was progressing to the final stage of negotiations with an unnamed preferred bidder on an exclusive basis for the sale of the company’s entire portfolio of battery energy storage system (BESS) assets. This comes following the company’s second stage of negotiations, which began on 18 October 2024 and drew an “encouraging” number of potential bids.
HEIT is keen to clarify that a final sale has not yet been agreed upon, and the terms of any potential sale are as yet unconfirmed. However, the company adds that negotiations with the preferred bidder will likely be concluded in early February 2025. After this, any potential sale will need to be agreed upon with the company’s shareholders before going ahead.
The news comes at the end of a shaky year for HEIT and the Harmony Energy development company. The year began with concerning news from HEIT; in February, the investment firm revealed that its year end revenues for the year ending 31 October 2023 were markedly lower than the same period the previous year, owing to a “weak revenue environment for BESS assets”, a concern echoed by fellow BESS investment firm Gresham House Energy Storage Fund.
Later that month, HEIT attempted to reassure the market by issuing a prediction that it could generate “attractive returns” despite ongoing concerns battery energy storage revenues in the UK market.
In May, the company announced it was cancelling its 2024 first quarter dividend and had appointed JLL to seek offers for some or all of the company’s assets, partly in an effort to prove that the fund was undervalued by markets. At the time, the firm called the sale an attempt to “maximise profits and demonstrate the continuing disconnect with the share price”, which had fallen 57% from the same period a year prior.
Later, the firm announced it planned to sell its entire UK portfolio, and an update in August confirmed that HEIT was pleased with the amount of interested parties seeking to bid.
In October, it announced that several firms, including the still unnamed preferred final bidder, had been selected to begin the second phase of the bidder and offer process.
