Good Energy Group PLC Strategic investment in Zap-Map (8037R)

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RNS Number : 8037R

Good Energy Group PLC

05 March 2019

Good Energy Group PLC

Strategic investment

Good Energy announces strategic investment in Zap-Map through its parent company Next Green Car Ltd.

Good Energy Group PLC ("Good Energy" or "the Company") today announces a strategic investment in Zap-Map's parent company, Next Green Car Ltd ("NGCL"). Good Energy has the opportunity to acquire a majority equity position aligned with the achievement of financial and developmental milestones over the next two years.

Zap-Map is the go-to app for Britain's 200,000 electric vehicle ("EV") drivers - planning routes, identifying charge points, checking their availability and sharing power. Its 70,000 monthly users can choose from over 11,000 charging devices located across service stations, car parks, retail sites and private driveways from its easily navigable & intuitive app. Both the number of EV drivers in the Zap-Map community and the number of charge points in its network have been increasing rapidly, which enhances the data by actively logging the status and availability of the national charging network.

The growth potential for the UK EV market is compelling. The UK Government has targeted 60% of all new vehicles on British roads to be electric by 2030, with the UK EV market forecast to grow at an annual compound growth rate of over 25%(1) in that timeframe. Government subsidies & exemptions for EV purchases, home & workplace charging, and annual road tax exemptions are encouraging rapid adoption of EVs, with over 30 new EV models(1) are expected to enter the market in the next twelve months alone, while GBP400m has been pledged to the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund already.

Bristol-based Zap-Map licenses its live mapping service to Nissan for use on its customer portal and has a partnership with Go Ultra Low, the government and car industry backed campaign designed to encourage EV-adoption. Following the successful launch of its Smart Route Planner, integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is planned. This is in addition to the roll out of Zap-Pay, which simplifies smartphone payments for EV charging - one dedicated smartphone app usable across multiple networks.

Unaudited accounts for the 12 months ended 31 December 2018 recorded revenues of GBP0.21m and an operational loss of GBP0.06m.

Strategic Rationale

The Good Energy Board believes the investment in Zap-Map has a compelling strategic and commercial rationale:

Strategic

-- A shared vision for accelerating the adoption of EVs in the UK, including development of power sharing solutions for customers, both household and commercial

-- An opportunity to partner with a leading EV service provider, reinforcing Good Energy's focus on power sharing services - localised generation, storage and sharing

Commercial

-- Next Green Car Ltd is one of the UK's leading sources of EV market data and knowledge, supporting the development of Good Energy's EV proposition

-- Access to an engaged EV community at the start of a rapid growth phase, broadening Good Energy's market potential

   --     Shared research and development 

Transaction

The transaction has been structured so that the initial 12.9% minority equity investment will increase to 50.1% aligned with product and financial milestones over the next two years.

-- Total initial consideration of GBP1.08m, rising to a maximum of GBP1.80m including deferred consideration, consisting of:

o An initial acquisition of 12.9% of NGCL for a cash consideration of GBP0.28m.

o A further investment of GBP0.80m in NGCL by way of secured convertible loan notes, comprising an initial tranche of GBP0.4m and two further tranches of GBP0.2m.

o Deferred consideration payable on satisfaction of product milestones in July 2020 and stretching financial milestone targets in December 2021. The maximum possible deferred consideration is GBP0.72m.

o Good Energy can exercise the convertible loan up until 31 December 2021. If the convertible loan note is not exercised by Good Energy, it becomes repayable by NGCL.

   --     The consideration is to be funded from existing Good Energy cash reserves. 

Juliet Davenport, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Good Energy, said:

"The way we view energy is changing. Environmental challenge and digital opportunity are converging; intelligent power sharing is replacing conventional power supply. Localised generation, localised storage and localised sharing too. EVs make power so much more tangible, and the rapid rise of incredibly useful apps like Zap-Map make the management of it so much simpler - at home, at work, or on the go.

The deal will help fund and accelerate Zap-Map's product development as it realises the full potential of its digital EV charging services. The two South West England teams will collaborate on broader applications for the proprietary platform, while seeking to maintain the exponential growth of its EV user base"

Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder of Zap-Map, said:

"Good Energy and Juliet share the understanding that the growth of EVs requires an entirely new mindset: a localised point-by-point power network and the ability to easily share or pay for electricity on a charge-by-charge basis. As Good Energy leads in genuinely renewable energy supply, Zap-Map has the UK's largest EV online community. Together we can lead in the emerging energy sharing economy in which homes, businesses and EV owners will trade and exchange power using the energy grids of the not too distant future."

Enquiries:

Good Energy Group PLC

Juliet Davenport, Chief Executive Tel: [phone]

Charles Parry, Investor Relations

Investec Bank plc (Nominated Adviser)

Jeremy Ellis Tel: [phone]

Sara Hale

Alexander Ruffman

Smithfield (Financial PR)

Alex Simmons Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors:

About Good Energy www.goodenergy.co.uk

Good Energy was founded in 1999 by Juliet Davenport OBE with the ambition to tackle climate change by generating and investing in renewable energy. Its purpose is to power the choice of a cleaner, greener future together with its customers, employees and investors.

Since it started, the company has been supplying clean power, sourced from its own generation assets as well as from independent, UK-based renewable generators. Good Energy also pioneered a more localised approach to energy by supporting home generation, launching the HomeGen scheme in 2004, which became the blueprint for the Feed-in Tariff.

Today, it continues to support and invest in localised energy generation, as the only UK energy company with more home-generation customers than supply. From using digital innovation to help UK households and businesses manage their energy usage more efficiently, to empowering more people to generate, store and share clean power, it is leading the charge towards a cleaner, distributed energy system.

About Good Energy's latest EV tariff

Designed with EV drivers in mind, Good Energy's Electric Vehicle Drivers 3 tariff offers lower unit rates that allow customers to charge their vehicle for less. It provides clean power sourced from over 1,400 renewable generators in the UK at savings of an average of GBP90 per year compared to Good Energy's standard variable tariff. Customers can also take advantage of E7 & E10 EV3 tariffs to access cheaper off-peak rates, allowing them to charge their EV overnight and save even more.

Website: https://group.goodenergy.co.uk/

Twitter: twitter.com/goodenergy

Facebook: facebook.com/goodenergy.co.uk

Instagram: Instagram.com/GoodEnergy

Source: (1) Barclays sustainable & thematic investing. Future mobility: Making the EV equation balance, November 2018

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March 05, 2019 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)