Centrica has agreed the sale of its Peterborough gas site with Whitetower Holdings UK Limited, an affiliate of Rockland Capital, LP, as it continues to work to streamline its operations.
The sale for an agreed consideration of £20 million – subject to customary working capital and other completion adjustments – includes the energy giant’s 245MW Peterborough open cycle gas turbine (OCGT), 49MW reciprocating gas engine and freehold land.
It is consistent with Centrica’s strategy to reach net zero by 2045, as well as targeting a simpler, leaner business structure.
In June 2020, the company announced its plan to reshape its operations in an effort to turn the tide on its continued losses. It saw record operating profit losses in 2020 in its preliminary results revealed in February, falling 31%, although it argued the first signs its restructure was bolstering the company were showing despite the impact of COVID-19.
Shortly after the news of the restructure, Centrica – which owns utility British Gas – announced that it was selling its North American energy supply, services and trading business, Direct Energy, to NRG Energy for $3.625 billion in cash (£2.85 billion) to allow it to focus on the UK and Ireland.
The company is expecting the sale of its Peterborough site to complete before the end of September 2021, and will continue to provide optimisation services following the exchange.
