London, 26 November 2024 We are pleased to announce that Asper’s UK district heating vehicle “Duke” has reached financial close on the Bradford Energy Network (“BEN”). Duke was established to support investments in 1Energy, a greenfield platform focused on developing, building and operating sustainable heat networks in city centres across the United Kingdom. BEN is Duke’s first project to reach financial close, making this a milestone event in the Partnership. BEN stands out as one of the first municipality-wide sustainable heating networks to be launched in the UK, marking a significant milestone not only for Duke’s project pipeline, but also the country’s energy sector and its decarbonisation efforts.
District heating network in Bradford’s city centre Platform 1Energy, the UK’s leading low-carbon city heat network developer, has secured a total of £75m of investment and three anchor customers for its heat pump-powered network in Bradford. The key highlights:
- At financial close, the key contracts for the delivery of the project (e.g., construction, customer connection and heat supply) have been signed. At this stage, the project is being funded 100% with equity from Duke.
- BEN is underpinned by contracted public sector anchor customers. With the support of its key partners – the University of Bradford, Bradford College, and Bradford Courts – the network will enable the rapid decarbonisation of heating. More customers are in an advanced stage of negotiations, with customer contracting expected to continue during the projects construction period and into operations.
- With this decision, Duke will invest £27m into the project. Total Duke equity investment is expected to reach £39m as further investments are made to continue the build out of the project. Total investments in Bradford are expected to increase Duke’s overall deployment to 22%.
Using Bradford as a blueprint, 1Energy has ambitions to develop new heat networks across the UK in the coming years. This will be primarily funded by investment from UK and global institutional investors through Duke, which is dedicated to supporting the development, construction and operation of 1Energy’s heat networks. 1Energy’s innovative approach offers the most cost-effective, simple and fast way to decarbonise heat at scale, laying the groundwork for greener, healthier cities. These networks will help Britain meet its climate goals by providing a local, sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel-powered heat, which currently heat millions over 2 million businesses and 24.5 million homes in the UK. The Bradford Energy Network is expected to generate enough low-carbon heat to supply the equivalent of roughly 10,000 homes, and cut the city’s heat-related carbon emissions by 80% in its first phase, supporting net-zero targets. By reducing reliance on gas, these networks will also strengthen energy security and protect organisations from volatile energy prices. Asper is proud to announce this significant milestone, the result of years of successful collaboration with our platform 1Energy and its valued clients.
“We cannot reach net zero without decarbonising heat. We are proud to be delivering a city-wide solution to this challenge for Bradford alongside the University of Bradford, Bradford College, and Bradford Courts. Thanks to the support of our key partners and investors, we are able to put Bradford right at the very forefront of decarbonised, healthier cities in the UK and to assist its regeneration and growth.”
Andrew Wettern, CEO of 1Energy
About 1Energy
1Energy’s mission is to decarbonise heat in cities and towns across the UK, accelerating the transition to net zero. The company is also developing other heat networks to provide green heat to public and private sector organisations in other cities and towns across the country based on the Bradford blueprint, including Exeter and Milton Keynes. Visit our website: www.1energy.uk
About Asper Investment Management
Asper Investment Management is an independent investment management firm specialised in sustainable real assets. Its investments and commitments managed by Asper total in excess of €1.4 billion dedicated to energy transition investments in Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. Visit our website: www.asper-im.com
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Luis Quiroga
Head of Investor RelationsLuis co-founded Asper in 2016 with Luigi and Emma, with whom he had worked at HgCapital since 2008.
At Asper, Luis is responsible for relations with Asper’s clients and leads Asper’s business development fundraising. Luis also remains involved in origination and execution of new investments, leveraging on his over 15 years of experience in energy investments. Luis is a member of Asper’s Investment Committee, Valuation Committee and the Sustainability Committee. An expert in Energy Transition policy advising think-tanks and research institutes, Luis also oversees Asper’s regulatory coverage.
Luis started his career with The Boston Consulting Group (Munich and Madrid) before joining Credit Suisse’s European Energy Investment Banking Team. Luis holds a Master of Science in Foreign Affairs (Fulbright Scholar) from Georgetown University and a joint degree in Law and in Business Administration from ICADE Madrid. He is fluent in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish.