Railpen has acquired a 50% shareholding in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure developer, AGR Power, in what has been highlighted as a "significant milestone" for both the pension manager and AGR.

CMS provided Railpen with legal advice on the deal, while Grant Thornton provided financial and tax advice, JLL provided commercial advice and WTW provided insurance advice. AGR, meanwhile, were advised by Eversheds Sutherland.

Railpen highlighted the investment as demonstration of its continued commitment to investing in essential infrastructure, with over £500m invested into UK energy infrastructure projects since 2019, including wind, solar, biomass and energy storage.

As part of the partnership, Railpen and AGR will work to grow AGR’s existing presence in the UK renewable and infrastructure market while exploring new territories, and building technologies that will expand AGR’s existing 2.5GW development pipeline.

In particular, Railpen's investment in AGR is intended to help the business construct a portfolio of assets and achieve its target of putting over 500MW of high-quality renewable assets in operation by 2029.

As part of this, Railpen has committed to invest in AGR’s near-term UK solar, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and greenhouse projects, facilitating the construction of 160MWp of solar photovoltaics (PV), 150MW of BESS, and AGR’s second sustainable greenhouse in 2024/25.

Railpen will be represented on the AGR board by Railpen investment director, Lewis Vanstone, and Railpen investment manager, Cristiana Dochioiu, while AGR co-founder, Oliver Breidt, will remain at the helm as group director.

Commenting on the deal, Breidt said: “I’m incredibly pleased to announce our partnership with Railpen in what is a landmark move for AGR.

"I’m very pleased to be working with Lewis and Cristiana who bring with them a wealth of experience. This will be a transformative chapter for AGR and our mission."

Adding to this, Dochioiu said: "We’re delighted to complete this investment in AGR, as part of our commitment to investing in innovative assets that grow our members’ capital over the long term.

"We are excited to work with the AGR team and Oliver to further develop the pipeline at AGR and drive positive change through our investment portfolio, building the critical infrastructure needed to support the UK’s transition to net zero."

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