Corre Energy, the embattled Dublin-listed renewable energy storage developer, has raised €4 million from the sale of is 50 per cent stake in a Dutch battery joint venture development set up less than six months ago.
The funds will help tide the company over as it seeks to secure a deal with a big external investor.
Corre had said in September that was seeking to “finalise a form of investment” agreement before the year end, even if the transaction was unlikely to be completed until 2025.
The so-called Zuidwending battery energy storage system (BESS) stake has been sold to a company called Royal Vopak, Corre said in a statement on Thursday. The project is near a compressed air energy storage (CAES) project that Corre has been working on for some time, but has been affected by delays due to permit challenges.
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“This sale marks an important milestone for the company following the restructuring undertaken in September 2024,” said Corre.
“This disposal demonstrates the company’s commitment to delivering value through a disciplined focus on core priorities and efficient capital allocation.”
Corre has seen its shares plunge more than 92 per cent so far this year, resulting in a market value on the company of just €11.6 million, amid concerns over funding, board and management exits and revelations in August about loans to its founding shareholder, Corre Energy Group Holdings, that had been secured against shares in the listed company.
Corre said at the time that it had handed over a 19.3 per cent stake in the Dublin-listed company to Stream Street, a company owned by Northern Irish investor Frank Boyd, to settle a loan that had been backed by shares.
It also disclosed that Corre Energy Group Holdings had pledged a further 15.4 per cent stake in Corre as security for other loans. Sources say that the majority of the loan capital raised by Corre Energy Group Holdings was put back into the business.
Stream Street and other investors that participated in the €5 million emergency financing deal in late September have since moved to secure board seats.
Corre had raised a further €2.58 million through an emergency share sale in July.
Its interim report shows that it was down to only €300,000 in net cash before that share sale. Its net cash stood at €1.4 million at the end of September, the most recent figure provided by the company.
Corre, which is based in the Netherlands but floated in Dublin three years ago, said that it has cutting jobs and since September and expects to deliver other cost-reduction measures in the first half of next year.
“The [battery joint venture stake] sale forms part of a comprehensive strategic review by the new board and executive management, as outlined in the interim results statement on September 30th,” it said. “The company will provide the results of this strategic review and further operational updates in the first quarter of 2025.”
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