UK-based renewables company to take secondary listing on Dublin stock market

Aquila European Renewables, a London-listed renewable energy investment company focused on projects in Europe, is set to take a secondary quotation on the Irish stock market next Monday, as it seeks to improve its appeal to investors across continental Europe.

The company, which has a market valuation of close to £280 million (€324 million), said that the secondary listing on the junior Euronext Growth Dublin market would not involve raising any fresh funds, in a statement on Thursday.

Aquila European Renewables, which floated in London in May 2019, had a wind, solar and hydro power portfolio with a capacity of 463.8 megawatts across Scandinavia, Greece, Spain and Portugal at the end of June, according to its latest annual report. It stated at the time of the initial public offering (IPO) that it would target projects in the Republic.

“Given the diverse European focus of the company’s strategy and its euro denomination, we believe a European listing will further enhance the company’s marketability and appeal in Europe, thereby also potentially enhancing liquidity of our underlying shares and providing growth opportunities,” Ian Nolan, the company’s chairman, said in the statement.

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Aquila European Renewables is advised by German-based Aquila Capital Investmentgesellschaft. Stockbroking firm Numis is the company’s broker and Irish listing sponsor.

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Aquila will become part of a small club of renewable-energy focused companies listed in Euronext Dublin (as the Irish stock exchange is known), led by Greencoat Renewables, which floated in 2017 and currently has a market value of €1.1 billion.

It also includes Corre Energy, an energy storage developer for renewable power firms, which has seen its share price soar from €1 at the time of its IPO two years ago to almost €3.40.

The secondary listing has come as a relief to the Irish stock market, which is being squeezed by big corporate exits and a dearth of IPOs in recent times.

The Iseq’s previous largest company, CRH, delisted from Euronext Dublin last week as it moved its primary quotation from London to New York. Another heavyweight, Smurfit Kappa, said earlier this month that it plans to quit the Irish market for New York as part of a merger with a US peer.

Flutter Entertainment, owner of Paddy Power, is also expected to leave the Irish market in the near future, having decided earlier this year to take out a listing in the US. The last Irish IPO was HealthBeacon in December 2021.