Slaughter and May advises Centrica on its £70 million investment in Highview Power

Slaughter and May advised Centrica plc (“Centrica”) on its strategic partnership and £70 million investment in Highview Power. Centrica’s investment comprises £25m of convertible debt at Highview Enterprises Limited, being the Highview Power holding company, and £45 million of debt funding at the Carrington Liquid Air Energy Storage (“LAES”) project level, phased over the project construction.

Centrica’s investment forms part of a £300 million funding package led by Centrica and the UK Infrastructure Bank alongside a syndicate of investors including Rio Tinto, Goldman Sachs, KIRKBI and Mosaic Capital. This investment will be used to construct and develop the first commercial-scale LAES plant in the UK, based in Carrington, Manchester. Once operational, it will be one of the world’s largest LAES facilities.