LCA shuts up shop to new investments
Article Date: Sep 30 2008AIM-listed cleantech investor Low Carbon Accelerator (LCA) does not anticipate making any new investments until it has achieved at least one exit, according to a statement released today. The firm’s management team has decided, ‘given current market conditions, to focus resources on supporting existing portfolio companies’.
Nevertheless, LCA’s investment manager believes rising energy prices and a difficult financial climate will benefit the companies in its portfolio, which offer businesses and consumers ways to reduce their long-term costs.
The statement comes as LCA releases news of three follow-on investments. The firm invested £700,000 in wind turbine maker Proven Energy as a convertible loan, bringing its total investment in the company to more than £5 million.
California-based commercial lighting specialist Lumenergi was the recipient of $2.4 million (£1.3 million) from LCA, part of a funding round of $4.5 million in which the balance was invested by US venture capitalist Noventi.
Finally, Living Villages, a developer of energy-efficient housing developments, received a further £150,000 as an equity investment from LCA. The company has had to revise its business plan in response to a lacklustre UK housing market, and has negotiated options on land to help insulate it from future falls in land prices.
Following the investments, LCA has a stake of 25 per cent in Proven Energy, 24 per cent in Lumenergi, and 28.75 per cent in Living Villages.
