Scott Wright
Group business correspondent
HELIUS Energy, the renewable firm backed by Scottish entrepreneurs Alastair
Salvesen, Angus MacDonald and Ann Gloag, has taken steps to move into
voluntary liquidation.
Today will be the last day of trading for Helius shares on the Alternative
Investment Market (AIM), the company has announced, with the board now
seeking a liquidator in a bid to return capital to shareholders.
The move comes after Helius offloaded its 50 per cent shareholding in the
Helius CoRDe renewable energy plant in Rothes, Speyside, and confirmed it
was no longer proceeding with plans to develop projects in the port of
Avonmouth, in Bristol, and Southampton.
The stake in Helius CoRDe was acquired by Leo Energy, a subsidiary of iCON
Infrastructure Partners II, for £12.3m – in excess of the company’s initial
£7.85m investment in the company.
Shareholders in Helius voted in favour of resolutions to sell its CoRDe
stake and cancel its admission to trade on AIM at its annual meeting on
March 20.
Mr Salvesen, scion of the famous shipping dynasty, is the majority
shareholder in Helius with a 26.45 per cent stake. Mr MacDonald holds 18.03
per cent and Ms Gloag 9.15 per cent through her Highlands and Universal
Investments vehicle.
In its most recent accounts, covering the year ended September 30, Helius
booked a pre-tax loss of £15.3m.
The accounts, filed before the sale of its stake in Helius CoRDe, show that
the company had incurred costs of £13.6m linked to the development of the
Avonmouth and Southampton projects by the close of the period. Total assets
were booked at £9.69m and total liabilities were £553,034, leaving total
net assets at £9.1m.
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