Solarcentury rules out IPO as search continues for buyer of £250m firm

The UK’s largest solar company Solarcentury has ruled out a public float as it looks for a new owner in a deal which could reportedly reach around £250m.

The firm, which builds solar projects across several continents, has seen interest from oil and gas utilities, large financial firms and other global players.

Read more: Ofgem proposals could set British solar back by up to five years

The sale comes after the company relied on organic growth for over a decade, getting its most recent cash injection in 2007. It was first reported on by Sky News last month.

It now needs more capital as it looks to accelerate growth and develop a large pipeline across four continents, chief executive Frans van den Heuvel told City A.M.

The sale comes opportunely at a time when worries over climate change have been thrust into the spotlight following protests and a recommendation from the Committee on Climate Change for the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

“The paradigm is shifting. The issue on climate change is obvious,” van den Heuvel said.

The chief executive, who would not comment on the company’s valuation or provide details on when he expects the takeover to happen, said the company will benefit from a boom in solar.

“By 2030 there will be more solar capacity installed than coal,” he said, adding that Britain can get to net zero emissions by 2050.

“It’s competitive, it’s winning based on the price,” as the price of renewables fall to historic lows.

The comments come two weeks after the Labour party revealed plans to put solar panels on 1.75m homes if it wins the next election.

And a report out today showed that solar and onshore wind power energy will become consistently cheaper than energy from fossil fuels within the next year.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said the average cost of electricity from solar photovoltaics (PV) fell by 13 per cent in 2018.

Read more: Solarcentury closes in on potential sale worth up to £250m

Meanwhile offshore wind, which makes up the majority of the UK’s renewables production, only fell by one per cent.

“Onshore wind and solar PV are set by 2020 to consistently offer a less expensive source of new electricity than the least-cost fossil-fuel alternative without financial assistance,” IRENA said.