Struggling renewable energy storage developer, Corre Energy, saw a significant rally in its shares on Friday, following news of a €5 million loan being provided by a consortium of major shareholders, including the Boyd property development family. Despite this surge of 22% to 33 cents in mid-afternoon trading (a rebound that began last week after the stock plummeted to an all-time low of 11 cents), the company’s shares are still down by almost 84% so far for this year.
The substantial loan, which can be converted into ordinary shares after six months at twice the remaining loan’s value, was also contributed to by investors like Stream Street, run by Northern Irish property tycoon Frank Boyd; renewable energy company Air Corre, managed by Mr Boyd’s son, Brendan; Nick Furlong’s Pageant Investments and Springhill Property Investment (Jersey). The loan, which interestingly has a zero per cent interest rate, aims to supply immediate funds to Corre for ongoing expenses, working capital and capital expenditures in existing projects.
Should Corre secure a long-term investment prior to the end of the six-month period, this loan could also be converted into shares. To help secure such an investment, Corre has enlisted the services of investment bank Rothschild, with the aim of pushing its primary projects forward.
Last week saw the resignation of the company’s interim chairman, Rune Eng, just under two months into the position, reducing the governing board to only one member, chief executive Keith McGrane. Earlier that week, news broke that Corre Energy’s founding shareholder, Corre Energy Group Holdings, had given up a 19.3% stake in the Dublin-listed company to Stream Street to settle a loan secured by shares.
In further developments, Corre Energy Group Holdings not only pledged another 15.4% stake in Corre as loan security but insiders also revealed that the bulk of loan capital raised by this group was reinvested in the business.
In the early days of July, Corre partnered with a company from the Netherlands in a joint enterprise to advance its primary project located within the Netherlands itself. The project, colloquially known as Zuidwending (ZW1), holds the potential to provide a maximum of 320 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the power grid, with plans for it to commence operation by the concluding months of 2026.
Aside from this, Corre has another chief project: the 320MW Green Hydrogen Hub, situated in Denmark. Plus, an additional facility in the Netherlands (ZW2), and an initiative to erect three plants in Germany, which will store energy in compressed air form within caverns acquired the previous year.