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GORE STREET ENERGY STORAGE FUND PLC

Interim / Quarterly Report Dec 16, 2022

5001_ir_2022-12-16_f5dde45c-9483-45a7-97a5-a3f08213887e.pdf

Interim / Quarterly Report

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Half Year Report of Gore Street Energy Storage Fund Plc

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc alf Year Report for the six months ended 30 September 2022

For the six months ended 30 September 2022

About Us

Launched in 2018, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc ("GSF" or "the Company") is London's first listed energy storage fund. The Company is the only UK-listed energy storage fund with a diversified operational portfolio located across four national grids.

The Company is one of the principal owners and operators of battery storage facilities in Great Britain and Ireland and owns and operates facilities in Western Mainland Europe and the US. It is listed on the Premium Segment of the London Stock Exchange and included in the FTSE All-Share Index.

Energy storage technologies can enhance power system stability and flexibility and are key tools for balancing out variability in renewable energy generation, facilitating the integration of more renewable energy supply into power grids. In this way, energy storage is critical to the renewable and low-carbon energy transition.

Investment Objective

The Company aims to provide investors with a sustainable and attractive dividend, generated from long-term investment in a diversified portfolio of utility-scale energy storage assets. In addition, the Company seeks to provide investors with capital growth through the re-investment of net cash generated in excess of the target dividend, in accordance with the Company's investment policy. The Company's investment policy is available on its website.

Target Yield

The Company targets a dividend payment to shareholders at an annual rate of 7 % of Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share, with a minimum target of 7 pence per Ordinary Share.

  • 1 Highlights and Key Metrics
  • 2 Chair's Statement
  • 4 Investment Manager's Report
  • 15 TCFD Report
  • 26 Directors' Interim Report
  • 28 Independent Auditor's Review report to Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc
  • 30 Interim Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income
  • 31 Interim Condensed Statement of Financial Position
  • 32 Interim Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity
  • 33 Interim Condensed Statement of Cash Flows
  • 34 Notes to the Interim Condensed Financial Statements

Key Metrics As of 30 September 2022

MARKET CAPITALISATION 1
-- -- -------------------------

DIVIDEND FOR THE PERIOD2

NAV PER SHARE6

SHARE PRICE TOTAL RETURN3 for the six months ended 30 September 2022

0.00%

million £529.54 4.0p

NAV

111.1p £534.79

4.65% for the six months ended 30 September 2022

NAV TOTAL RETURN4

million

Table 1: Key Metrics As at 30 September 2022 As at 31 March 2022
Net Asset Value (NAV) £534.79m £369.58m5
NAV per share6 111.1p 107.1p
NAV Total Return7 14.3% 13.1%
Number of issued Ordinary shares 481.40m 345.04m
Share price based on closing price of indicated date 110p 113p
Discount/Premium to NAV8 (1.0%) 5.5%
Market capitalisation based on closing price at indicated date1 £529.54m £389.9m
Portfolio's total capacity 698.25MW 628.5 MW
Dividends announced9 4.0p 7.0p
Share Price Total return for the six months ended 30 September 20223 0.0%
NAV Total Return for the six months ended 30 September 20224 4.65%

1 Note on Market Capitalisation: closing share price of 110 pence as of 30 September 2022. The total number of shares of 481.4 million.

2 Note on Interim Dividend: A total of 4.0 pence in dividends was declared for the period between March and September 2022.

3 Note on Share Price Total Return for the six months ended 30 September 2022: Calculated as the difference between the closing share price as at 30 September 2022 and opening share price as at 31 March 2022, plus dividends paid since 31 March 2022 divided by opening share price as at 31 March 2022 ((110-113+3)/113)*100. This is an alternative performance measure.

4 Note on NAV Total Return for the six months ended 30 September 2022: Calculated as the difference between the NAV as at 30 September 2022 and Adjusted NAV as at 31 March 2022, plus dividends paid since 31 March 2022 (excluding the dividend paid on 1 April 2022 as it is factored into the Adjusted NAV figure) divided by Adjusted NAV as at 31 March 2022 ((111.1-107.1+1)/107.1)*100. This is an alternative performance measure.

5 Adjusted NAV is calculated as the NAV per the Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2022 adjusted for the interim dividend relating to the December 2021 quarter of £6.9 million, which was declared in March 2022 but paid post period end on 1 April 2022. This is an alternative performance measure.

6 Note on NAV per Share: Calculated as Total NAV divided by the total number of shares in issue.

7 Note on NAV Total Return: Calculated as the difference between the NAV at 30 September 2022 and NAV at 30 September 2021, plus dividends paid for the period divided by opening NAV at 30 September 2021 ((111.1 – 103.3+7)/103.3)*100). This is an alternative performance measure.

8 Note on Discount to NAV: Calculated as the difference between the closing share price on 30 September 2022 to NAV on 30 September of 2022 ((110-111.1)/111.1)*100). This is an alternative performance measure.

9 A total of 4.0 pence in dividends was announced for the period. A total of 3p was paid during the period, 2p relating to the December 2021 quarter, and 1p relating to March 2022 quarter. See note 11 to the Financial Statements for further details.

Chair's Statement

I am pleased to present the Company's Interim report for the six months ending 30 September 2022.

Overview and Performance

The Company continues to go from strength to strength with the completion of the acquisition of three 9.95 megawatts (MW) operational and four 9.95 MW pre-construction assets in the ERCOT market of Texas, United States. Post the reporting period, the Company also acquired a 200 MW constructionready project in Great Britain (GB) – the largest asset in the portfolio to date. With the consolidated 269.6 MW capacity added through acquisitions, the Company's portfolio capacity has reached 898.2 MW as of the date of publication.

I am delighted to report an increase in the Company's operational portfolio following the successful commissioning of the 30 MW Porterstown phase I project, with final consents for phase II, adding an additional 60 MW, expected before the end of the calendar year. The Company's operational portfolio stands at 291.6 MW, with assets located internationally across four grids.

Also, it is with great pleasure that I note that at the Citywire Investment Trust Awards 2022, the Company won the inaugural award for Best Specialist Alternatives trust in recognition of its consistent performance as the closed-ended fund on the London Stock Exchange with the best three-year performance in its category.

Macroeconomic context

The macroeconomic climate shifted rapidly over the reporting period, with rising short-term inflation, rising interest rates, high foreign exchange (FX) volatility and increasing construction costs. The Investment Manager has sought to limit the impact on the Company's portfolio by securing competitively priced EPC contracts through its dedicated construction team, exploiting economies of scale, minimising debt exposure, and geographical diversification of the operational portfolio to create natural hedges against FX volatility.

Fundamental growth drivers for energy storage remained strong throughout the period, with a clear global shift towards low-carbon energy generation necessitating assets able to provide system flexibility, such as those owned and operated by the Company. As a result, I am confident of the Company's ability to continue delivering a sustainable and attractive dividend with an element of capital growth to investors over the long term.

Further details may be found in the Investment Manager's report on page 5.

Dividends

The Company's dividend target is 7% of NAV. In line with this target, the Company paid an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share on 8 April 2022 for the period ending 31 December 2021. The Company also paid 1.0 pence for the period ending 31 March 2022 on 26 August 2022 and 2.0 pence on 21 October 2022 for the period ending 30 June 2022. The Company will also pay a dividend of 2.0p for the September end quarter, with an ex-dividend date of 29 December 2022 and a payment date of 13 January 2023.

Share price and NAV Performance

I have been comforted by the resilience of the Company's share price during a turbulent time for the global economy, particularly in the UK capital markets.

We have taken the prudent step of increasing the discount rates used in the valuation of the Company's portfolio by 1%. This reflects the increased interest rates and higher opportunity cost for investors within the renewables sector. Despite the discount rate increase and dividends paid during the period, the NAV total return achieved in the 6-month period was 4.65%.

NAV growth during the period was supported by financial discipline in construction and asset management. The Investment Manager strongly believes in capital efficiency and strives to achieve amongst the lowest Capex and/or Capex/MW in the industry through leveraging its in-house technical knowhow.

Further details of NAV breakdown may be found in the Investment Manager's report on page 5.

Strategy and operational performance

The Investment Manager has been focused on diversifying the Company's portfolio and mitigating its exposure to the effects of recent macroeconomic events.

As of the publication date, the Company's portfolio consists of 898.2 MW of utility-scale energy storage assets across the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Germany and the United States. This consists of 291.6 MW of operational assets and 606.6 MW of assets at varying stages of construction.

The Company's operational assets continue to yield higher-thanexpected revenues across the markets in which they operate through the efficient optimisation of revenue stacks.

The average system availability during the period was satisfactory. For full details, see pages 10 to 12.

As a first mover with in-depth experience operating energy storage assets, we have identified opportunities to improve safety above the current market standard. The Company's portfolio is undergoing active trials of enhanced analytical measures and hardware testing to prevent operations in unsafe conditions. Risk assessments and safety improvements are expected in the near term.

Sustainability

While the energy transition to replace fossil fuels with renewable alternatives is accelerating, global pressures on energy supplies have increased the need to support this shift. It has never been more important to provide shareholders with accurate disclosures to help them make informed decisions. The Company is committed to ensuring sustainability and transparency are embedded in its business strategy.

During the reporting period, the Company published its first ESG and Sustainability Report and, more recently, adopted the recommendations set out by the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as part of its sustainability engagement.

This follows the Company's decision to align with the EU framework on sustainability-related disclosures in financial services and is indicative of our ongoing commitment to improving climate risk management.

The Company's inaugural TCFD report is included on page 15 of this report. The TCFD report covers the year ended 31 March 2022.

Fundraising

As I noted in the annual report, the Company raised £150m in April using a significantly oversubscribed share issuance, having published a prospectus on 29 March 2022. The Company has the authority to issue a further 545,454,546 shares under the prospectus and intends to use this to underwrite future growth opportunities in its pipeline.

Debt

The Company's capital structure leaves it well-placed within the current environment and without exposure to increases in debt servicing costs. We also are benefiting from higher-thanexpected interest rates on our cash holdings that, in turn, have positively impacted overall dividend cover.

Board composition

As announced in the annual report, the Board has resolved to appoint a new Director and has engaged an independent recruitment agency to find candidates. The nomination and remuneration committee has held interviews and plans to provide an update in Q1 2023. In addition, the Board would like to engage in orderly succession planning with another

appointment and will be looking to appoint another Director in the future.

AIFM changes

Following a review, the Company has agreed with the Investment Manager and its subsidiary, Gore Street Operational Management Limited (the "Operations Manager"), that with effect from 16 December 2022, the AIFM Agreement between the Company and the Investment Manager and the Commercial Management Agreement ("CMA") between the Company and the Operations Manager will be amended. The notice period under the CMA has been increased from 6 months to 12 months in order to align with the notice period under the AIFM Agreement. Amendments have also been made to both agreements: (i) to provide that in the specific event of a takeover offer for the Company becoming wholly unconditional, the agreements will terminate automatically with no requirement for notice to be served; and (ii) to prescribe certain fees that will then become payable to the Investment Manager and the Operations Manager on such termination. Based on the amounts involved, the changes to the AIFM Agreement and CMA constitute a smaller related party transaction as set out in the FCA's Listing Rule 11.1.10R. Further details are on page 26 of the report.

Outlook

The Company's international pipeline of over 1.5 GW indicates its appetite for international expansion. North America and mainland Europe present compelling economic cases for deploying energy storage.

In the United States, the electricity grids of individual states, in many ways, act as islands, like GB, with unique challenges and opportunities. The current regulatory landscape is also becoming more favourable, with the Inflation Reduction Act introducing policies that support energy storage deployment.

As the EU looks to its member states to build out its infrastructure of renewable assets to meet decarbonisation targets, the Company intends to continue to support this transition and execute pipeline opportunities across Europe following the acquisition of the Cremzow asset in Germany.

The Investment Manager is pursuing pipeline opportunities in a range of markets to further diversify the Company's portfolio and take advantage of tangible opportunities in multiple grids. Following the addition of almost 70 MW of operational and pre-construction capacity in Texas during the reporting period, further growth across the Company's mandated geographies is planned. We look forward to providing shareholders with updates on both portfolio capacity and performance as we continue to support the global low-carbon energy transition.

Patrick Cox

Chair 15 December 2022

Investment Manager's Report

Investment Manager's Report

4 Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc

Half Year Report for the six months ended 30 September 2022

Investment Manager's Report

for the six months ending 30 September 2022

Results

The Company's NAV increased by 45% from the end of the last fiscal year (31 March 2022). The key drivers of the increase in NAV from £369.6 million¹ (31 March 2022) to £534.8 million (30 September 2022 NAV) were: (i) a fundraise of £147.3 million in net proceeds; (ii) acquisition of 29.9 MW in operational assets in Texas, US; (iii) acquisition of project rights totalling 39.8 MW in Texas (US); (iv) successful de-risking of projects as they progressed through their construction stages; (v) revenue forecasts updating; and (vi) strong operational

NAV Bridge

700.00

Figure 1: NAV Bridge September 2022 (£ millions) PLC NAV Bridge April - Sept 2022

performance of the assets due to efficient optimisation of the revenue stacks.

A capital raise of £150.0 million was completed during the reported period in April 2022. The Company declared dividends of 4.0 pence per share for the period and paid a total of 3.0 pence per share during the 6-month period, in line with the 7.0% of NAV dividend target. Annualised ongoing charges for the period represented 1.31% of average NAV in the period2. The increase in Total NAV during the fiscal year is further detailed in the bridge, shown in Figure 1 below.

Portfolio NAV drivers

During the period, portfolio NAV increased by over 30% (or £54.0 million), of which £53.1 million is due to acquisitions or capex deployment on current portfolio companies. NAV per SPV was updated to reflect operational performance during the period. The Company adjusted key valuation assumptions using reputable third-party research houses in response to the forecast changes and current macroeconomic environment.

Discount Rate

In light of increased interest rates and a higher opportunity cost for investors within the renewables sector, discount rates are on average over 1% higher across the portfolio, reflecting

a weighted average discount of 9.3% compared to 8.3% in March-end 2022. Further factors affecting the discount rate stem from completed acquisitions within the period, alongside the de-risking of existing portfolio capacity as it progresses from its construction phase through to commercial operations, as shown by the current 291.6 MW in operations across the portfolio.

Inflation

The short-term inflation assumption has been updated to reflect the current economic environment with rising interest rates. Over the long term, inflation was assumed to be 2% as per the Central Bank target of 2.0% across the geographies in which the Company operates.3,4,5,6,7

1 £369.6m is Adjusted NAV at 31 March 2022. Adjusted NAV is calculated as the NAV per the Statement of Financial Position at 31 March 2022 adjusted for the interim dividend relating to the December 2021 quarter of £6.9m, which was declared in March 2022 but paid post period end on 8 April 2022.

2 Ongoing charges include all expenses which are expected to recur in the foreseeable future, and which relate to the ongoing operation of the Company. This includes management fees, Directors' fees, audit and tax compliance fees, administration fees, depositary fees, company secretarial fees, and other recurring costs. It excludes performance fee, costs associated with portfolio transactions, and other non-recurring costs

  • 3 https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/knowledgebank/will-inflation-in-the-uk-keep-rising
  • 4 https://www.statista.com/statistics/306720/cpi-rate-forecast-uk/
  • 5 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-15/us-long-term-inflation-expectations-drop-to-one-year-low?leadSource=uverify%20wall
  • 6 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T5YIFR
  • 7 https://www.statista.com/statistics/375207/inflation-rate-in-germany/

5 Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc Half Year Report for the six months ended 30 September 2022

Revenue

Revenue assumptions across the portfolio were updated to reflect the September-end energy market outlook for the grid networks in which the Company operates. In GB and Ireland, an average of the central-case forecasts from multiple independent consultants was applied to reflect a consolidated market view. Revenue forecasts capturing the current market consensus were also updated for assets located in Germany and the US.

Capital Expenses

Battery cell costs have been updated across the portfolio in line with the short-term trends seen across battery technology markets, impacting the expected repowering capex for assets once they reach their degradation threshold. An EPC contract was also secured during the reporting period for one of the Company's assets, Enderby.

Operating Expenses

The assumptions regarding operating costs across the fleet have been revised and updated in line with our latest view, including energy costs.

Revenue

The Company's portfolio is optimised across multiple revenue streams and benefits from diversification of monetisation strategies and customers (predominantly Transmission System Operators "TSOs") procuring frequency and capacity services from the Company's assets, alongside engaging in arbitrage opportunities in wholesale markets. During the reporting period, ancillary services revenues accounted for the largest portion of the Company's revenues, notably consisting of Dynamic Containment (DC) and Firm Frequency Response (FFR) in GB, DS3 Uncapped in NI, Frequency Containment Reserves in Germany and Responsive Reserve Services in Texas, US. It is important to note that some revenue streams can have severe seasonal variances as weather conditions and high temperatures impact rates. Some services can also have intermittent periods of low demand from the TSO.

Market Market Structure Revenue Streams Characteristics
GB National Grid
Capacity Market (CM)
• Firm Frequency
Response (FFR)
• Dynamic Containment
(DC)
• Dynamic Moderation
(DM)

Dynamic Regulation (DR)

Wholesale Trading

Triads
• CM: Procurement of future energy capacity to ensure sufficient generation
on the system
• FFR: Balancing supply and demand of electricity to ensure that frequency
remains around 50Hz
• DC: Fast-acting post-fault service to contain frequency outside of
acceptable limits
• DM: Balancing supply and demand of electricity to ensure that frequency
remains around 50Hz
• DR: high energy throughput fast frequency response service, currently still
in trail phase
• Wholesale Trading: The trade of energy between generators and suppliers
• Triads: Top three half-hour peaks of national energy demand across the grid
Ireland EirGrid/SONI
Capacity Market

DS3 Programme
(comprised of):

Volume uncapped

Volume capped
• Volume uncapped: Procurement that does not limit the volume of the
service being procured and to which regulated tariffs apply
• Volume capped: Procurement where an upper limit is applied to the
volume of relevant DS3 services being procured and for which prospective
providers will offer a competitive price as part of their tender
• CM: Procurement of future energy capacity to ensure sufficient generation
on the system
Germany TSOs across
eight countries

Frequency Containment
Reserve (FCR)

Automatic frequency
restoration reserve
(currently in the
prequalification phase
for the asset)

Wholesale trading
• FCR: Primary ancillary service in Germany and serves to stabilise frequency
deviations in the system
• aFRR is an ancillary service procured and dispatched by the TSO
responsible for frequency in a specific area.
• Wholesale Trading: (from April 2023)
Texas, US ERCOT
Responsive Reserve
Services (RRS)

Regulation Up (RegU)

Regulation Down (RegD)
• RRS: Used to restore the frequency of the system within the first few
minutes of an event that causes a significant deviation from the standard
frequency
• RegU is an ancillary service that provides generation to the grid or signals
stored power to be discharged
• RegD is an ancillary service that reduces excess generation on the grid or
stores power (i.e. charge batteries)
Revenue Stream (£million) % Within
the Grid
% Of
overall
portfolio
Average
hourly
revenue
per MW2
Average
hourly
revenue
per MWh2
MW MWh
GB
Ancillary Services £8.79 91.9% 109.7 101.0
Capacity Market (CM) £0.59 6.1% 109.7 101.0
Wholesale Trading £0.19 2.0% 109.7 101.0
GB – Total £9.57 100.0% 47.4% £19.92 £21.63 109.7 101.0
Ireland
DS3 Uncapped/Capped(1) £5.94 99.2% 130.0 72.6
Wholesale Trading £0.05 0.8% 130.0 72.6
Ireland – Total £5.99 100.0% 29.7% £10.52 £18.84 130.0 72.6
Germany
Ancillary Services £1.88 100.0% 22.0 29.0
Germany – Total £1.88 100.0% 9.3% £19.54 £14.82 22.0 29.0
US
Ancillary Services £2.70 98.3% 29.9 59.7
Wholesale Trading £0.05 1.7% 29.9 59.7
US – Total £2.75 100.0% 13.6% £20.99 £10.51 29.9 59.7
Operating Revenues £20.19 100% £17.74 £16.45 291.6 262.3

Table 2: Gross Revenue earned by the Company, broken down by revenue stream and by grid

(1) The DS3 Revenues include accrued delays damages for Porterstown owed in the amount of the missed revenues under the DS3 Capped contract

(2) Calculated by dividing hourly revenue by the operational portfolio capacity in each grid (GB: 109.7 MW/101.0 MWh, Ireland: 130.0 MW/72.6 MWh, Germany: 22.0 MW/29.0 MWh, US: 29.0 MW/59.7 MWh)

Figure 2: Total Revenue (in £000's and £000's/MW) represented per each of the four grids: National Grid, EirGrid/SONI, European TSOs ('European Grid'), and ERCOT, Texas, since IPO

Sep-end 2019

Jun-end 2019

Half Year Report for the six months ended 30 September 2022

Mar-end 2019

Dec-end 2018

Sep-end 2018

Jun-end 2018

Mar-end 2022

Sep-end 2022

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000

Jun-end 2022

Dec-end 2021

Sep-end 2021

Jun-end 2021

Mar-end 2021

Dec-end 2020

Sep-end 2020

Jun-end 2020

Mar-end 2020

Dec-end 2019

Drivers of revenue

As the world moves away from conventional fuels8, which have historically provided capacity and flexibility, in pursuit of a lower-carbon future, the problem of intermittent generation arises. Energy storage is a key enabler in this energy transition. Wholesale markets and ancillary services are pegged to gas prices, and as volatility impacts this commodity, the rest of the market experiences the knock-on effect. As markets mature, grid operators seek to revolutionise the way grid frequencies are maintained and begin to disconnect gas prices from markets by introducing higher levels of renewables.

Ancillary services facilitate greater renewable penetration, but these markets quickly saturate as battery storage systems are built out. Both providers and procurers of services need to be competitive and flexible as new opportunities emerge and the characteristics of battery storage technology shape frameworks and market mechanisms previously designed for participation from conventional assets.

Long and short-duration services exist in all the markets that the Company is active in. The shorter-duration assets are better suited to the delivery of ancillary services, which are currently the Company's key focus. As the ancillary services market saturates over time with increased capacity build-out, merchant opportunities such as wholesale arbitrage, in which batteries seek to target growing spreads in power markets, are expected to take precedence.

Great Britain:

During the reporting period, revenue was predominantly derived from DC and FFR, as they offered better returns, with the capacity market adding to the revenue stack. It is expected that DC and FRR will continue to drive the bulk of revenue as both DM and DR have increased levels of activity. Merchant markets such as Balancing Mechanism and wholesale could offer additional avenues to generate revenue.

In GB, the average of the central scenario forecasts from multiple independent research houses have been applied to all GB asset valuations for ancillary services, trading, Capacity Market revenue, and other revenue sources (such as voltage revenue and TNUoS benefit). The price forecasts for ancillary services and trading are illustrated in the blended curve shown below:

Blended Curve of Ancillary Services & Trading

(£/MW/h) Dec-22 Dec-23 Dec-24 Dec-25 Dec-30 Dec-35 Dec-40
GB (real 2021) 17.07 16.27 11.84 9.41 7.04 7.41 7.87

Ireland/Northern Ireland:

The DS3 programme is the predominant source of revenue in this market and will continue to provide future revenue.

In NI, updated price forecasts have also been applied to asset valuations for Uncapped DS3, Trading and Capacity Market revenue. The forecast prices for NI up until 2025 are driven by uncapped DS3 services, with post-DS3 services forecast post-2025. The average central forecasts from multiple third-party research houses are shown below. In ROI, the assets have DS3 Capped fixed tariff contracts in place for the first 5 years, after which there are post-DS3 services forecasts applied.

Revenue Forecasts in NI and ROI

(€/MW/h) Dec-22 Dec-23 Dec-24 Dec-25 Dec-30 Dec-35 Dec-40
NI (real 2021) 15.94 18.14 16.93 12.13 9.16 7.68 6.96
ROI (real 2021) 6.79 6.79 6.90 9.20 8.39 7.23 6.65

Germany:

All revenue generated during the reporting period came from FCR. The Company is seeking to explore new opportunities in aFRR and wholesale trading as these markets open.

Texas, US:

RRS and wholesale market have provided the majority of revenues during the reporting period. As the Company becomes more active in the market, ancillary services such as reg-up and reg-down are expected to contribute towards the revenue stack. An additional service, FFR, was introduced in September 2022 – the Company will explore how best to access this revenue stream and evaluate its viability and profitability compared with other existing services.

8 https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/the-2030-decarbonization-challenge.html

Figure 3: Revenue Performance for the Period30

30 Project availability and service allocation is presented as a percentage of total hours within the period. Note on Capacity Market: revenue is not including the percentage allocation of project delivery hours. Capacity Market revenue is stackable with all other revenue streams as the Company is paid to be available to deliver this service whilst delivering other revenue streams.

Portfolio

Assets pre-construction or in construction

The Company has made significant progress on projects yet to be operational.

During the period, the Company completed the acquisition of four pre-construction assets in Texas, US. Each of these adds an additional 9.95 MW of capacity bringing the total construction and pre-construction assets in the Company's portfolio to 606.6MW

Procurement of EPC services for the four Texas assets is underway, with the Investment Manager seeking to enhance value by grouping the assets and aligning construction schedules. The Investment Manager expects the four assets to be operational by H1 2024 calendar year.

In Great Britain, the construction of Stony (79.9 MW) and Enderby (57.0 MW) continue to progress well, with commercial operation remaining forecast for Q2 and Q4 2023, respectively. Grid connection works at Ferrymuir (50MW) have been delayed; consequently, the commercial operation is now anticipated to slip into Q2 2023.

In Ireland, commissioning at Porterstown Phase I was completed during the reported period, with verification of testing and commencement of commercial operation imminent. The asset has accrued construction delay damages since April 2022, the scheduled take over date. At Kilmannock, phase I and II preliminary engineering works has commenced ahead of procurement of grid connection works and Phase I EPC energy storage works in 2023. The Investment Manager expects commercial operation for Phase I in H2 2024. Phase II operation remains subject to confirmation of the EirGrid connection timeline but is envisaged to run concurrently with Phase I to commence operation in H1 2025.

Reporting
period
GB Location Nameplate power
capacity (MW)
Construction Status Expected COD
(Calendar year)
Revenue Streams
Ferrymuir Fife, Scotland 50.0 Construction June 2023 Frequency
Capacity Market
Energy Trading
Enderby Leicestershire,
England
57.0 Pre-construction December 2023 Frequency
Capacity Market
Energy Trading
Stony Buckinghamshire,
England
79.9 Construction June 2023 Frequency
Capacity Market
Energy Trading
Ireland Location Nameplate power
capacity (MW)
Construction Status Expected COD Revenue Streams
Porterstown
Phase 2
Co. Dublin 60.0 Pre-construction H1 2024 DS3 Uncapped
Capacity Market
Kilmannock
Phase 1
Co. Wexford 30.0 Pre-construction H2 2024 DS3 Uncapped
Capacity Market
Kilmannock
Phase 2
Co. Wexford 90.0 Pre-construction H1 2025 DS3 Uncapped
Capacity Market
US Location Nameplate power
capacity (MW)
Construction Status Expected COD Revenue Streams
Mineral Wells Texas 9.95 Pre-construction H1 2024 Ancillary Services,
Energy Trading
Cedar Hill Texas 9.95 Pre-construction H1 2024 Ancillary Services,
Energy Trading
Wichita Falls Texas 9.95 Pre-construction H1 2024 Ancillary Services,
Energy Trading
Mesquite Texas 9.95 Pre-construction H1 2024 Ancillary Services,
Energy Trading
Post period GB Location Nameplate power
capacity (MW)
Construction Status Expected COD Revenue Streams
Middleton GB 200.0 Pre-construction H2 2026 Frequency, Capacity
Market, Energy
Trading

Table 3: Summary, as of September 2022, of all sites in construction, including the location of assets, capacity (MW), construction status and the expected Commercial Operational Date (COD)

Operational asset performance

Average availability achieved across the portfolio (weighted by asset capacity, in MW) was 94% for the six-month period to September-end 2022. Note that this availability represents the assets' ability to be dispatched commercially, so planned maintenance acts negatively against it. This leads to lower availability calculations than the technical availability metrics tied to availability warranties.

Great Britain:

The GB fleet includes the Company's two lower-performing assets, which brought the availability average to 89% over the six-month period. All projects of 10 MW capacity or higher experienced availability of 96% or higher. When available, commercial performance of the assets was excellent. There were no issues with equipment design capability and warranty management, with unavailability attributed to planned downtime and occasional equipment faults, almost entirely rectified at the reporting period's end.

Hulley and Lascar each achieved >98% availability with no particular outages of note. Larport's technical performance is similarly strong, with availability impacted predominantly due to unavoidable outages imposed by the network operator.

  • The fleet of 10 Ancala sites performed well, although the Brook Hall site was unable to generate revenue in Dynamic Containment due to its 0.8MW size.
  • Cenin performed particularly well in the period, achieving an average of 100% availability with few asset interactions required, and this level of performance is anticipated to continue.
  • Breach and Lower Road also had excellent performance, with 97% availability achieved. Lower Road had downtime in April (85% availability that month) whilst earthing was replaced following a theft (future concern has been mitigated across the fleet through sophisticated security upgrades, some ongoing).
  • Port of Tilbury achieved only 59% availability due to inverter issues (now resolved) impacting asset MW capacity, coupled with an imposed state of change (SOC) restriction by the cell supplier.
  • Boulby achieved 21% average availability. This was due to a combination of site outages, controls outages and an extended battery recharging process following these outages. All issues have been resolved with the asset returning to service in September.

Ireland:

Both Irish operational assets, Mullavilly and Drumkee, performed well throughout the period, with an average 98% availability achieved. Downtime was mostly attributed to repair works on a circuit breaker at Drumkee, resolved in May with no ongoing concerns. Each asset performed well in DS3 throughout both quarters, passing all events which occurred without penalty for all DS3 services. The projects are set to continue operating well, with planned maintenance in October ahead of windier months in winter and spring (where revenue opportunity is highest).

Germany:

The Cremzow project is generally performing well. In July, an inverter issue with the 2MW 'trial' project (the 22MW project comprised a 2 MW trial phase with 20MW further expansion upon success) removed it from operations, with issues ongoing into the next period. This downtime was extended due to supply chain issues on inverter spare parts. Project performance was otherwise excellent, allowing the project to achieve 95% availability over the six month period.

USA:

The three operational US-based projects in Texas—Snyder, Sweetwater and Westover—all performed well during the period. Across each of the 9.95 MW projects, technical performance was good and averaged over 95% at Sweetwater and Westover and over 98% at Synder, with close to 97% achieved across the projects on average. This is partly due to the consistent, responsive engagement of O&M providers and asset managers for the project, as there have been some stability issues with air conditioning and inverter parts. Updates to the inverter controls have improved this during the period, and parts were replaced in October to improve inverter stability. Asset performance is expected to remain strong over the next period, with all three assets expected to comfortably meet their service requirements and capture merchant revenue where available.

Reporting
Period
GB Location Nameplate
Power
capacity
(MW)
Nameplate
Energy
capacity
(MWh)
Availability
for reporting
period
Services that can be performed
Cenin Wales 4.0 4.8 100.0% DC, FFR, Capacity Market
Boulby Yorkshire 6.0 6.0 21.3% FFR, Capacity Market, Triads
Ancala Mixed* 11.2 11.2 96.6% DC, FFR, Capacity Market
Lower Road Essex 10.0 5.0 97.3% DC, FFR, Energy Trading, Capacity Market
Port of Tilbury Essex 9.0 4.5 59.4% DC, FFR, Capacity Market, Triads
Larport Hereford 19.5 19.5 87.5% DC, FFR, Energy Trading, Capacity Market
Lascar Bury 20.0 20.0 99.1% DC, FFR, Energy Trading, Capacity Market
Hulley Macclesfield 20.0 20.0 98.1% DC, FFR, Energy Trading, Capacity Market
Breach Farm Derbyshire 10.0 10.0 97.0% DC, FFR, Energy Trading, Capacity Market

Table 4: Summary, as of September 2022, of operational sites including the location of assets, nameplate capacity (MW and MWh), availability for the year and services that can be performed.

*The Ancala asset comprises 10 smaller sites of 1.0 MW – 1.2 MW across the UK.

Ireland Location Nameplate
Power
capacity
(MW)
Nameplate
Energy
capacity
(MWh)
Availability
for the
reporting
period
Services that can be performed
Drumkee Co. Tyrone 50.0 21.3 96.7% DS3 Uncapped
Mullavilly Co. Armagh 50.0 21.3 98.6% DS3 Uncapped
Porterstown
Phase 1
Co. Dublin 30.0 30.0 n/a* DS3 Capped, Capacity Market
Germany Location Nameplate
Power
capacity
(MW)
Nameplate
Energy
capacity
(MWh)
Availability
for the
reporting
period
Services that can be performed
Cremzow Cremzow 22.0 29.0 94.7% FCR, Energy Trading
US Location Nameplate
Power
capacity
(MW)
Nameplate
Energy
capacity
(MWh)
Availability
for the
reporting
period
Services that can be performed
Snyder ERCOT 9.95 19.90 98.8% Ancillary Services, Energy Trading
Sweetwater ERCOT 9.95 19.90 95.7% Ancillary Services, Energy Trading
Westover ERCOT 9.95 19.90 95.5% Ancillary Services, Energy Trading
TOTAL 291.6 262.3 89.1%

*For the Porterstown asset in the ROI, the asset was delayed in reaching its commercial operations, thus although the site was energised, it has no applicable availability data for this period.

Strategy

Deployment

This period marked continued progress in the Company's growth and diversification strategy, with acquisitions completed in its fourth international grid network, ERCOT, totalling 69.65 MW / 139.3 MWh across a portfolio of 7 assets. Three of these projects are already operational, and four are pre-construction, which have amounted to a total investment of \$39.6 million, with a further c. \$28.0 million expected to be spent on the construction of the four pre-construction assets. Post-period, the Company completed the acquisition of a further 200.0 MW in GB, solidifying its position as a market leader in its existing geographies.

Following on from the EPC framework procurement of 129.8 MW for its Ferrymuir and Stony assets in March 2022, the Investment Manager procured an EPC contract for its 57.0 MW Enderby asset with NIDEC in April 2022 and is assessing EPC solutions for the remainder of its 406 MW portfolio of construction/ preconstruction assets. Taking this into account, alongside the post-period acquisition of Middleton, the deployment of capital forecast across the portfolio towards assets under construction (and expansions) now amounts to a total commitment of over £300 million.

Whilst GB remains a key focus for the Company, it is increasingly looking at new opportunities in Western Europe and the ERCOT / CAISO grids in the US, where projects are increasing in scale and number. The Investment Manager is in exclusive negotiations on projects totalling 75.0 MW / 150.0 MWh in ERCOT.

Fundraise

In April 2022, the Company raised gross proceeds of £150 million in the issuance of 136,363,636 new Ordinary Shares. The issue was significantly oversubscribed. The Company has 481,399,478 Ordinary Shares in issue as at the publication date.

New Market Expansion

New market opportunities present themselves following policy changes or market conditions that unveil the system's needs beyond what already exists. The Company is seeking to explore these opportunities and further understand the potential for revenue beyond the markets it is currently active in.

Figure 4: Timeline and milestones of the Company since IPO: Market Capitalisation, portfolio total capacity and operational portfolio capacity; as well as contracted 'Engineering Procurement and Construction' (EPC) capacity.

Pipeline

Market Cap (£m)

The Investment Manager has delivered on its strategic plan for international diversification, with acquisitions in new grids and a diversified pipeline across GB, Ireland, Western Europe and the United States. These markets generally rely on

EPC Contracts (MW) Shares Issued (#)

Portfolio Capacity Operational Capacity

similar grid balancing, capacity market and trading services that characterise the GB and Irish markets. As of the date of publication, the total pipeline stands at over 1.5 GW or 2.6 GWh, with transactions in exclusivity amounting to a total of 75.0 MW or 150.0 MWh. Please see below a table illustrating the Company's top 10 projects.

Project Location Total Project Size
(MW)
Total Project Size
(MWh)
Project A GB 99.9 99.9
Project B GB 250.0 250.0
Project C US, CAISO 60.0 240.0
Project D US, CAISO 200.0 400.0
Project E US, ERCOT 75.0 150.0
Project F US, ERCOT 89.1 178.2
Project G US, ERCOT 200.0 400.0
Project H US, ERCOT 150.0 300.0
Project I US, ERCOT 200.0 200.0
Project J US, ERCOT 200.0 400.0
Total 1.52 GW 2.62 GWh

Outlook

Significant long-term tailwinds are driving national grids to transition towards renewable sources, evidenced by renewables growing to account for 13% of energy generation globally.1 The increased reliance on renewable energy sources directly propels the deployment of battery energy storage systems, which are expected to grow by 20.2% between 2022-2028.2 The structural changes required to shift to clean energy sources have been accelerated due to OECD governments passing significant legislation to ensure they remain on track to meet carbon neutrality targets.

Even with the same target of decarbonisation, each country/ area may have a different regulatory environment. Therefore, the Company recognises geographical diversification as one of the core investment strategies to address the challenges from regulatory and technological changes in the evolving energy policy climates. The Company currently holds and operates a diversified portfolio in four markets, including GB, Ireland, the US (Texas), and Germany. The Investment Manager intends to further diversify its investment pipeline with acquisitions in Western Europe and North America, GB, Australia and other developed renewable energy markets. The acquisition price of any single project can not exceed 25% of the Company's Gross Asset Value (calculated at the time of acquisition) to maintain the diversification of the portfolio.

The portfolio is further diversified through multiple stackable revenue streams, which could be either under long-term contract or merchant. Due to the flexible nature of the Lithium-ion batteries, the Investment Manager is able to take advantage of a variety of contracts depending on prevailing market conditions. The Company is also comfortable with 100% merchant revenue as it has built its in-house technical team to capture the market opportunities.

The specialist technical team minimise Opex, whilst optimising a revenue stacking strategy across the portfolio. In addition, by securing competitively priced EPC contracts, the Investment Manager ensures a solid foundation for generating target project returns.

The current macroeconomic climate has introduced potential headwinds such as rising short-term inflation, high FX volatility and rising construction costs. The Investment Manager has taken proactive measures to ensure that the impact on the overall portfolio valuation is limited by using economies of scale, securing competitively priced EPC contracts, minimising debt exposure and investing across the OECD to create natural hedges against FX volatility. As a result, the Investment Manager is confident of the Company's ability to deliver long-term capital growth to investors through the construction, operation, and

optimisation of a geographically diverse portfolio of utility-scale battery storage systems.

Despite such headwinds, the Investment Manager's experience and track record in acquiring, constructing and operating utilityscale storage assets across numerous grids means that it is well placed to capitalise on future opportunities through deployment of capital across relevant projects which fulfil its mandate. The Investment Manager believes that the macro and market fundamentals underpinning renewable energy proliferation globally, combined with the decline in baseload capacity and increasing relevance of national energy security necessitate a requirement for flexible storage assets to provide this wider system stability.

Europe:

As the EU positions itself as a beacon for renewable deployment, it encourages member states to continue to build out capacity, imposing targets to deliver on milestones. Further, there is an accelerated need to build out renewable projects for certain member states that had been previously more reliant on Russian gas imports.

United States:

CAISO, the ISO covering the majority of California, and other neighbouring states, has introduced policies that support energy storage deployment and an energy storage target of 41 GW by 2045 (including 37GW of battery energy storage and 4GW of long-duration storage). CAISO differs from ERCOT as it is connected with neighbouring ISO networks – this allows for the flow of energy in and out of the region; however, these interconnection lines have limited capacity. More recently, buildout of renewables has caused an imbalance between times of peak energy demand and renewable energy generation which the deployment of energy storage is aiming to normalise.

After the reporting period, the Company acquired the project rights for a 200 MW project located in Heysham, United Kingdom. It is anticipated that this project will participate in the GB market across ancillary services, wholesale trading and capacity market. The project will connect to National Grid's main transmission network rather than the local distribution network, meaning it will operate independently from an intermediary distribution network operator, potentially opening additional revenue opportunities. Grid connection is expected to be no later than Q4 2026. However, the Company will seek to accelerate the connection date while maintaining a cost-efficient EPC procurement process. The final capex will depend on the selection of the system duration. The project has the flexibility to deploy a storage system with a duration of up to two hours.

1 https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2022-full-report.pdf

2 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220923005452/en/Batteries-for-Solar-Energy-Storage-Market-Forecast-to-2028---Global-Analysis-By-Battery-Type-Application-and-Connectivity---Decline-in-Prices-of-Lithium-Ion-Batteries---ResearchAndMarkets.com

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Report

For the year ended 31 March 2022

TCFD Report

Climate change creates financial risks that pose a global threat to activity across all industries, representing long-term uncertainty for the investment community. Rising occurrences of extreme weather events can impact financial systems by disrupting normal activity and lowering asset values, with consequences for a wide range of sectors, while the shift to a low-carbon economy can present transitional risks.

There are also opportunities inherent to this transition. The Company was launched in 2018 to deliver long-term capital growth to shareholders through a geographically diverse portfolio of utility-scale battery storage systems integrated into high renewable penetration power grids. Climate risk management is, therefore, an important step in improving accountability and providing investors with the transparency they need to increase their support of a greener future.

The Financial Stability Board established the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to improve market transparency around the financial risks posed by climate change.

Following 18 months of consultation, the TCFD published 11 climate-related financial disclosure recommendations in 2017 structured around four thematic areas: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

The UK is the first G20 nation to require climate risks based on TCFD recommendations to be reported. This followed the publication of the UK's Net Zero strategy and forms part of the government's commitment to making its financial system the greenest in the world1.

In phases from 2021 to 2025, new legislation2 requires certain listed companies and financial institutions, such as pension schemes, asset managers and insurers, to provide climate disclosures. The Company does not fall within the scope of these requirements but has chosen to align voluntarily, as it believes in the TCFD's purpose and the benefits of the exercise.

As London's first listed energy storage fund, with an operational portfolio spanning grids in four countries to date, the Company is in a key position within the energy transition space to understand and mitigate risks posed by the climate crisis. Those identified by the Company range from physical risks caused by the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, which can impact construction and operation phases while heightening health and safety risks for those working on site, to transitional risks around variations in policy and market dynamics.

Identifying and managing these risks allows the Company to optimise and grow its portfolio of energy storage assets to better contribute to the integration of renewable generation and deliver accurate disclosures to help investors make informed decisions.

Energy storage is crucial in accelerating the low-carbon transition necessary to limit global temperature increases to below 1.5C. It can also support national climate mitigation and decarbonisation targets, such as the UK's ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The Company is, therefore, committed to ensuring the market has access to timely information needed to support its activity.

The voluntary adoption of TCFD recommendations is part of the Company's sustainability journey and represents an ongoing commitment to improving climate risk management. It follows the Company's decision to align with the European Union's (EU) framework on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (SFDR).

Choosing to align with the TCFD recommendations and SFDR means the Company has committed to increasing its level of data capture and disclosure to form a more complete understanding of its environmental impact, risks and opportunities. It also signifies the Company is committed to improving its reporting capabilities to allow shareholders to track its progress.

The Company also became a signatory of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment in July 2021 and will participate in the next reporting period in 2023, when the new framework is in place.

The Company has published its inaugural ESG and Sustainability Report in August 2022 to highlight and quantify the measures it has established to further its sustainable impact and will continue to deliver regular updates. GSF is committed to publishing an annual ESG and Sustainability Report in which it will include updates on all chosen frameworks.

These efforts have allowed the Company to improve its understanding of climate risks and opportunities specific to its business and consider where future improvements can be made. This work will grow further as the Company continues to develop its sustainability strategy and push forward the lowcarbon transition.

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-enshrine-mandatory-climate-disclosures-for-largest-companies-in-law

2 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-enshrine-mandatory-climate-disclosures-for-largest-companies-in-law

Governance

Ensuring accountability and responsibility for climate-related risks and opportunities

Board's oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities

In the context of global uncertainties surrounding international relations and climate change, the Board of Directors has been working to ensure sustainability and climate issues are embedded throughout the Company's business strategy.

The Board has ultimate responsibility for monitoring and managing the Company's climate-related risks and opportunities. It has established the means to deliver this work through the Investment Manager, which identifies the Company's principal risks, including climate-related ones.

The Investment Manager reports to the Board every quarter and as needed to keep the Directors apprised of progress or developments. This allows the Board to set and approve the Company's sustainability and ESG strategies and carry out regular reviews of the Company's climate commitments and disclosures.

The Investment Manager's role in assessing and managing climate-related risks

The Investment Manager's responsibilities cover creating, implementing, monitoring, and reporting the Company's sustainability strategy. This includes meeting the requirements set out by SFDR. In addition to adopting and reporting on TCFD, the Company also considers the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) frameworks within its investment decision-making.

The Company's energy storage assets require complex management and optimisation to effectively balance the variability of renewable electricity generation and support its integration into the energy mix. This activity contributes towards the transition to a low-carbon economy and is a central pillar of the Company's sustainability strategy. The Investment Manager's ESG team regularly collaborates with the in-house Commercial, Construction, and Asset Management Team to review and work on implementing the Company's sustainability strategy. Together, they form more meaningful policies and risk mitigation strategies for pre-operational and operational assets and enhance the preinvestment due diligence on pipeline opportunities.

In addition to its sustainability capabilities, the Investment Manager retains advisors that lead the Investment Manager's impact agenda and guide the Company's approach to sustainability.

The Company engaged third-party experts to conduct a formal climate risk assessment. As part of this assessment, ten of the

Company's assets were reviewed for physical risks. Further details of the climate risk assessment can be found in the Strategy section, below.

Strategy

Embedding climate resilience into the business strategy

Climate-related risks and opportunities have the potential to materially impact the Company. It has, therefore, chosen to adopt the recommendations set out by the TCFD to better identify and manage its risk exposure and explore potential opportunities.

Climate-related risks and opportunities can be categorised as transitional and physical. Transitional opportunities arose as growth of renewable energy and low carbon sector fuelled a need for flexible assets capable of managing grid intermittency. Between 2010 and 2022, the installed capacity of wind and solar generation in the UK grew from less than 5 GW to over 41 GW3. This prompted the economic case for battery energy storage to emerge when transmission system operator National Grid ESO established a market for grid services that could respond quickly and efficiently to variations in supply and demand stemming from the UK's wider adoption of renewable energy generation sources. Since entering the UK market in 2018, the Company has also entered the Irish, North American and European markets.

The continuation of this decarbonisation process fuels the sector's growth and has resulted in further opportunities for the Company as similar markets emerge worldwide. Global renewable electricity capacity is expected to increase by 305 GW annually in the five years to 20264, driven by policy support in numerous countries and improved financing for maturing technologies. This growth will increase demand for flexible energy solutions like energy storage. Transitional climate-related considerations are, therefore, an integral pillar of the Company's strategy.

Physical risk assessment

The Company conducted a formal physical climate risk assessment to assess the likelihood of it being materially affected by climate-related risks or opportunities. This analysis looked at ten of the Company's 25 assets – located across the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany – identified internally as those most exposed to climate-related risks and representative of the locations in the Company's portfolio. The Company intends to conduct risk assessments on an annual basis in the future.

The analysis evaluated the following hazards for the location of each asset: water stress, heatwaves, wildfire, sea level rise, flooding, and tropical cyclones.

3 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-trends-section-6-renewables

4 https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2021/renewable-electricity?mode=market&region=World&publication=2021&product=Total

The climate change scenarios

Climate change scenarios are used to form projections of future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and assess possible impacts of climate change on the Company, helping it to better align its strategy. Three scenarios have been considered and are set out in figure 5.

Figure 5: Climate change scenarios

Strong Mitigation 1.8°C by 2100

This scenario covers the optimal sustainable path, also referred to as the Green Road (SSP1-RCP2.6). It encompasses socioeconomic and representative emissions pathways consistent with a gradual and pervasive global shift towards a more sustainable future. Carbon emissions begin to decline around 2020, and global mean temperatures will rise approximately 1.8°C by 2100, a key goal of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Middle of the Road 2.4°C by 2100

This scenario covers a middle path with challenges to climate mitigation (SSP2-RCP4.5). In this scenario, overall emissions continue to rise through mid-century before beginning to decline. This causes environmental systems to experience degradation and climate change to worsen through the end of the century. This is a likely scenario if governments and policy reflect a strong sense of urgency towards climate adaptation. Global mean temperatures will rise approximately 2.4°C by 2100, but greater emissions raise the risk of tipping points.

High Emissions 4.3°C by 2100

This scenario covers a future where the world continues its current trajectory, also referred to as Fossil-Fuelled Growth (SSP5-RCP8.5). Global markets are increasingly integrated, and total population and per-capita consumption have increased. Emissions peak around 2090, and global mean temperatures rise approximately 4.3°C by 2100.

These scenarios are modelled over a 30-year timespan to 2051, which aligns with the Paris Agreement and national targets such as the net zero 2050 target set by the UK government. These scenarios are consistent with the TCFD recommendations to assess climate resilience under multiple climate scenarios, including a 2˚C or lower scenario.

Figure 6: Hazard findingsenarios

Hazard Scenario United States5 Great Britain6 Ireland Germany
Heatwaves 1 Medium Low Low Low
2 Medium Low Low Low
3 High Medium Medium Medium
Wildfire 1 Medium Low Low Low
2 Medium Low Low Low
3 Medium Low Low Low

The Company's assets face the most significant exposure to heatwaves and wildfires on a global basis. The degree of exposure to sea level rise, flooding, and tropical cyclones was low for all locations across all scenarios.

5 All the United States assets in the Climate Risk Study were located in Texas

6 The Great Britain assets in the sample were located in North East England, Eastern England, South West England, and Wales.

Impact

High temperatures caused by heatwaves (refer to Figure 7) may reduce a battery's design life by increasing the degradation rate and contributing to a higher likelihood of safety failures. As a result, the Company aims to effectively manage temperatures to address the vulnerability of its assets to heatwaves. The Company's assets are designed with local environmental conditions accounted for including consideration for climate change and realistic extremes of high and low temperatures. As the fleet covers a wide range of geographic areas, no over-arching range of ambient temperature conditions is applied. Anticipated temperatures range from -20C to +40C, with a likelihood of foot room or headroom, factored in.

In the strong mitigation scenario, four of the ten assets assessed were identified to be at medium risk from the impact of heatwaves, with the remaining six assets deemed low-risk. The same impact applies to the assets if global mean temperatures rise approximately 2.4°C by 2100 (i.e. middle-of-the-road scenario). If global mean temperatures rise approximately 4.3°C by 2100 (i.e. high emission scenario), nine of the ten assets assessed are at medium to high risk of impacts from heatwaves.

Figure 7: Hazard findings – Heat Wave enarios

Scenarios
Site Name Location Strong Mitigation Middle High Emissions
Snyder Texas, US Medium Medium High
Mineral Wells Texas, US Medium Medium Medium
Sweetwater Texas, US Medium Medium High
Blue House County Durham, UK Low Low Medium
Boulby North Yorkshire, UK Medium Medium Medium
Brook Hall Wiltshire, UK Low Low Medium
Cenin Bridgend, UK Low Low Medium
Lower Road Essex, UK Low Low Low
Porterstown County Kildare, Ireland Low Low Medium
Cremzow Carmzow-Wallmow, Germany Low Low Medium

Identified risks

Figure 8: Identified risks

Category Category overview Climate factor Risk/Opportunity impact
Transitional risk The risk to the Company from the
transition to a lower carbon economy.
Regulation Policy and legal – differences in local,
national and global requirements.
Transitional risk The risk to the Company from the
transition to a lower carbon economy.
Investor preference Market – new dynamics and non-linear
relationships affecting the size of the supply,
demand and costs.
Transitional risk The risk to the Company from the
transition to a lower carbon economy.
Investor preference Reputation – shifts in societal awareness,
interconnected issues driving impacts and
actions, often enabled by the internet.
Transitional
opportunity
Changes in the business landscape from
the transition to a net-zero society.
Sustainable financing Access to capital – potential future reduction
in debt financing due to the fund's eligibility
for green financing.
Transitional
opportunity
Changes in the business landscape from
the transition to a net-zero society.
Valuation Increase in the Company's share price –
increased market capitalisation due to investor
appetite for companies contributing to the
energy transition.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Regulatory policy and
legislation
Environmental pollution – caused by an
inability to recycle batteries at the end of life,
irresponsible use of natural resources as raw
materials, biodiversity disruption at battery
energy storage sites, and uncontrolled and
excessive emissions from the facility.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns
Location – number of Special Purpose
Vehicles (SPVs) exposed or affected,
projected loss or damage to project
infrastructure or supply chain, projected or
identified the cost of business interruption,
insurance costs.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns.
Financial – projected or identified impact
on revenues and expenditures, change in
operating and capital costs, and insurance
costs.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns.
Reputation – environmental impacts could
trigger opposition from local communities
and associations.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns.
Health & Safety – incidents of injury caused
by natural disasters at a site.
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns.
Delayed commissioning – delays in
construction, permitting etc., caused by
natural disasters at a site
Physical risk The risk to the Company from the
physical impacts of climate change linked
to extreme weather events.
Exposure to extreme weather
conditions and changes in
climate and weather patterns.
Total or partial damage to assets – caused
by natural disasters at a site.

Risk Management

The TCFD recommends that organisations disclose their processes for identifying, measuring and managing climaterelated risks and describe how these processes are integrated into the organisation's overall risk management. Figure 9 illustrates the Company's risk management process.

Figure 9: GSF Risk Management Process

Scope, Context and Criteria

Climate-related risks have been embedded within the Company's Risk Policy as a stand-alone risk and integrated into relevant subsections of others, such as operational and credit risks.

Risk and opportunity assessment three-step process:

  • a) Identification: the Company's climate-related risks are identified through:
    • Technical due diligence activities during investment in new facilities.
    • Invitation to Tender process for EPC projects.
    • Sustainability workshops carried out as part of EPC projects.
    • Regular discussions within the Investment Manager's teams.
    • Advisory services and recommendations from specialist consultants knowledgeable in industry best practices and climate change risk assessment.
  • b) Analysis: the Company assesses the likelihood and impact of each risk and opportunity to determine a risk rating of high, medium or low. This has included engaging with an external consultant to conduct a climate change risk assessment covering ten Companies' assets in various geographical locations. The assessment findings have been used to identify and organise the Company's portfolio's vulnerability to specific climate hazards and the probability of that climate hazard occurring.
  • c) Evaluation: the Company will, in future, aim to benchmark climate-change risk ratings and assessment findings against its internal risk criteria.

Risk Treatment

The Company's risk management framework requires introducing climate-change mitigation controls once the risk is identified, assessed and evaluated. This includes assigning a risk owner responsible for developing and implementing the controls.

Recording and Reporting

The Company's risk management framework requires that climate-related risks are recorded in a risk register and reported to the Board and business units and externally to stakeholders.

Communication and consultation

Risk managers are required to communicate regularly with key stakeholders to create a sense of inclusion, understanding, and continuous improvement. This facilitates a risk-aware culture, improving alignment with business goals and objectives and helps individuals become aware of their role within the day-to-day risk management process.

Climate change has recently been integrated into the Company's EPC Invitation to Tender process. The Company has also started to request O&M contractors report data that will enable the Company to measure and monitor climate-related risks.

Metrics & Targets

Assessing climate-related risks and opportunities

The Company's climate-related risks and opportunities are primarily assessed using the following metrics:

  • Renewable Energy Stored
  • Total Net CO2e emissions avoided
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Renewable electricity stored

The Company's battery energy storage systems play a crucial role in decarbonising the grid systems in which they operate. In doing so, the Company also supports national Net-Zero targets and decarbonisation goals of grid operators.

To help quantify the benefits of battery energy storage assets, the Company has chosen to measure and disclose the amount of renewable electricity its assets store. During the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Company's assets stored 7,885 MWh of renewable electricity, which is enough to power over 2,0007 households in London for a year. This process is illustrated in figure 10.

Generation from renewable energy assets, like wind and solar farms, varies throughout the day as conditions change. The sun does not always shine, and the wind does not always blow, meaning supplies can dip below what is needed or has been planned for by grid operators. Renewable assets can also generate more than expected during particularly sunny or windy periods, making balancing the grid challenging and sometimes requiring curtailment.

Battery storage can enable the excess electricity produced by renewables to be discharged back into the system when needed.

Figure 10

7 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1079141/subnational_electricity_and_gas_consumption_summary_ report_2020.pdf

Share of non-renewable electricity stored.

The Company's assets are key to supporting global targets for increasing integration of renewable energy but does so by operating within grids that carry a mix of renewable and non-renewable energy; therefore, the Company has chosen to measure the amount of renewable energy that its assets store.

The Company used half-hourly transmission system electricity data on the percentage of renewables generation as a proportion of the electricity generation mix to determine that 30% of the electricity consumed by its portfolio was from nonrenewable sources. This is a direct result of the energy mix of each grid system in which the Company's assets operate.

As part of its ongoing work to facilitate the integration of renewables using energy storage, the Company is contributing to a reduction in non-renewable electricity. The Company, therefore, expects to see this share of stored electricity fall over time.

Net CO2 equivalent emissions avoided

The Company's activities avoided 5,454 tCO2e emissions during the 2021-22 fiscal year that would otherwise have been emitted using traditional grid electricity. This is equivalent to taking 4,700 cars off UK roads8.

The methodology used to calculate these avoided emissions is based on the difference between using the Company's operational portfolios and conventional generation. The first scenario assumes batteries are used to import electricity when generation exceeds demand before later exporting to the grid when the inverse scenario occurs, while the second substitutes this function with gas-fired peaking capacity. An illustration of this can be seen in figure 11.

Figure 11

8 Annual car mileage 2021 - 5,300: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy. Average car emissions 2020 – 221.4 g/ mi: https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/average-co2-emissions-car-uk

The approach used to calculate this metric is aligned with the EU methodology for assessing avoided emissions from generators and follows guidance from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the European Commission.

While it aims to demonstrate the contribution of the Company's activities to climate mitigation, the Investment Manager has identified shortfalls in the currently accepted EU methodologies for assessing net CO2 emissions avoided for battery storage systems. The approach does not, for example, capture the total value attributable to a battery storage asset as an "energy vector" utilised by transmission system operators, such as National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO). The Company's battery storage assets can provide ancillary services, such as frequency response, and deliver within the ESO's Balancing Mechanism by importing and exporting electricity from the grid.

The method also assumes that only generation by natural gas-fired peaking plants would be used in place of electricity dispatched by the battery storage asset. There are other electricity storage and production plants, such as pumped hydroelectric plants and other battery storage facilities, that could have been dispatched. However, due to the lack of available data needed to quantify this, the Company has taken the existing approach, which has been deemed appropriate by third parties.

The Investment Manager intends to develop a more sophisticated model that would allow a better assessment of emissions avoided by battery energy storage systems. This could be achieved through further research, scientific collaboration, and engagement with relevant stakeholders, industry partners, and/or in-house.

Greenhouse gas emissions

During the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Company committed to greater data capture and disclosure levels. A third-party specialist was engaged to assist with calculating the Company's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, broken into three subsections aligned with current industry standards.

The first (Scope 1) concerns emissions from sources the Company owns or controls directly, while the second (Scope 2) calculates emissions the Company caused indirectly through the energy it purchases. The third (Scope 3) measures emissions from the Company's activities throughout its value chain from sources the Company does not own or control. The latter accounted for over three-quarters of the total calculated emissions.

A breakdown of the Company's GHG emissions and related metrics is shown in table 5.

Figure 12: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (tCO2e)

Scope 3 emissions during the fiscal year 2021-22 accounted for the largest proportion of emissions and were primarily caused by waste generated during the construction and acquisition of capital goods related to EPC services and the impact of electricity commercialised downstream.

Emissions stemming from asset management, operations, maintenance, transportation and distribution of materials and equipment were negligible. Those related to losses between importing and exporting electricity on-site and from within the transmission and distribution system were also minimal.

While the Company will look to broaden its emissions reporting going forward, it is also working to improve accounting methodologies for energy storage. These assets are considered both energy consumers and generators, which can result in emissions from consumed energy being unduly allocated and impacting the accuracy of emissions inventories associated with storage.

Through its Investment Manager, the Company is working in collaboration with others to confirm an appropriate methodology for emissions from battery storage.

Table 5: Reported metrics for the year ended 31 March 2022

Metric Category Metrics Performance
GHG Emissions Scope 1 emissions 35 tCO2e
Scope 2 emissions 4,340 tCO2e
Scope 3 emissions 13,814 tCO2e
Total Emissions 18,189 tCO2e
Carbon Footprint 87.11 tCO2e/ M£
Weighted average carbon intensity 0.20 tCO2e / M£
Transition Risks Exposure to companies active in the fossil fuel sector No exposure
Share of non-renewable energy consumption and production 30.1%
Energy consumption intensity per high-impact climate sector 0.31 GWh / M£
Climate-Related Opportunities Net CO2 emissions avoided 5,454 tCO2e
Total renewable electricity stored 7,885 MWh

Targets used by the organisation to manage climate-related risks and opportunities

  • Continue to evaluate the data disclosed within this report and expand reporting to cover other cross-industry metric categories.
  • Evaluate and set appropriate, quantitative targets for metrics in line with the strategy of the Company.
  • Contribute to a greater reduction of the share of non-renewable electricity consumed in the grids that the Company operates in.
  • Increase research and development investment to improve the methodology of calculating emissions associated with energy battery storage.

Directors' Interim Report

Amendments to AIFM agreement and Commercial Management Agreement

The Company has agreed with the Investment Manager and its subsidiary, Gore Street Operational Management Limited (the "Operations Manager"), that with effect from 16 December 2022, the AIFM Agreement between the Company and the Investment Manager and the Commercial Management Agreement ("CMA") between the Company and the Operations Manager will be amended to make the following changes. The notice period under the CMA is increased from 6 months to 12 months with immediate effect in order to align with the notice period under the AIFM Agreement.

The AIFM Agreement has been amended to provide that in the specific event of a takeover offer for the Company becoming wholly unconditional the AIFM Agreement will terminate automatically with no requirement for notice to be served and:

  • the Investment Manager will be entitled to a performance fee equal to 20 per cent. of the amount (if any) by which the offer price multiplied by the number of ordinary shares in issue exceeds the prescribed benchmark for payment of a performance fee, such fee to be capped at 3.49% of NAV in the financial year to 31 March 2023 and 3.99% of NAV thereafter (the 'Exit Performance Fee') plus a fee equal to 1 per cent. of Adjusted NAV9; or
  • where no Exit Performance Fee is payable, the Investment Manager will instead be entitled to a fee equal to 2 per cent. of Adjusted NAV (the 'Minimum Takeover Fee').

If the aggregate amount of any Exit Performance Fee payable plus 1 per cent. of Adjusted NAV is less than the Minimum Takeover Fee, then the Investment Manager shall instead receive the Minimum Takeover Fee.

The Board has further agreed to amend the terms of the Commercial Management Agreement between the Operations Manager and the Company from today to provide that, in the event of a takeover offer for the Company becoming wholly unconditional, the CMA will terminate automatically with no requirement for notice to be served and the Operations Manager will be entitled to receive:

  • where an Exit Performance Fee is paid under the AIFM Agreement, a fee equal to one per cent. of NAV; or
  • where no Exit Performance Fee is paid under the AIFM Agreement, a fee equal to two per cent. of NAV.

The Board has agreed these changes in recognition of the fact that the Investment Manager and its subsidiary have created significant value for shareholders in the form of the Company's existing portfolio, which may be attractive to potential acquirors. In the event that a takeover offer is accepted at a premium to the benchmark it is the Board's view that the Investment Manager should share some element of this additional value created.

Furthermore, the Investment Manager and its subsidiary have and continue to invest a significant amount of resources and capital building a portfolio management, technical and operational team to service the Company, its subsidiaries and its assets as it grows both in GB and internationally.

The Investment Manager and any members of its group, which includes the Operations Manager, are related parties of the Company for the purpose of the FCA's Listing Rules. Based on the amounts involved, the changes to the AIFM Agreement and CMA constitute a smaller related party transaction as set out in the FCA's Listing Rule 11.1.10R.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties with the Company's business fall into the following categories: COVID-19, Changes to Market Design, Inflation, Exposure to Lithium-Ion Batteries and Battery Manufacturers, Key Skills Retention, Dependence on Long-Term Operations and Maintenance Contracts, Valuation of Unquoted Assets, Delays in Grid Energisation or Commissioning, Currency Exposure, Cyber-Attack and Loss of Data, and Insurability of Assets. A detailed explanation of the risks and uncertainties in each of these categories can be found on pages 58 to 61 of the Company's published annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022.

These risks and uncertainties have not materially changed during the six months ended 30 September 2022. However, the Board has noted that geopolitical factors continued to create uncertainties, including relating to energy policy, supply chains and interest rates.

Going Concern

Having assessed the principal risks and uncertainties, and the other matters discussed in connection with the viability statement as set out on page 66 of the published annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022, the Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.

9 For these purposes, "Adjusted Net Asset Value" shall be equal to Net Asset Value, minus Uncommitted Cash; and "Uncommitted Cash" means all cash on the Company balance sheet that has not been allocated for repayment of a liability on the balance sheet or any earmarked capital costs of any member of the Group.

Directors' Interim Report Continued

Although the Company's articles of association require that a proposal for the continuation of the Company be put forward at the Company's next AGM due to be held after the publication of the Company's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023, the Directors have no reason to believe that such a resolution will not be passed by shareholders.

Related Party Transactions

There have been no transactions with related parties that have materially affected the financial position or the performance of the Company during the six months ended 30 September 2022.

As noted on page 26, the amendments to the AIFM agreement and Commercial Management Agreement agreed after the end of the reporting period constitute a smaller related party transaction.

Directors' Responsibility Statement

The Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, this set of condensed financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting and with the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Financial Statements of Investment Companies and Venture Capital Trusts" issued in July 2022, and that this half year report includes a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Patrick Cox

Chair

Independent Auditor's Review Report

to Gore Street Energy Storage Fund Plc

Conclusion

We have been engaged by the Company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2022 which comprises the Interim Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Interim Condensed Statement of Financial Position, the Interim Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity, the Interim Condensed Statement of Cash Flows and the related explanatory notes. We have read the other information contained in the half yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements.

Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2022 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standard 34 and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

Basis for Conclusion

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" (ISRE) issued by the Financial Reporting Council. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

As disclosed in note 2, the annual financial statements of the Company are prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards. The condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting".

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

Based on our review procedures, which are less extensive than those performed in an audit as described in the Basis of Conclusion section of this report, nothing has come to our attention to suggest that management have inappropriately adopted the going concern basis of accounting or that management have identified material uncertainties relating to going concern that are not appropriately disclosed.

This conclusion is based on the review procedures performed in accordance with this ISRE, however future events or conditions may cause the entity to cease to continue as a going concern.

Responsibilities of the Directors

The Directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

In preparing the half-yearly financial report, the Directors are responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's Responsibilities for the review of the financial information

In reviewing the half-yearly report, we are responsible for expressing to the Company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report. Our conclusion, including our Conclusions Relating to Going Concern, are based on procedures that are less extensive than audit procedures, as described in the Basis for Conclusion paragraph of this report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company in accordance with guidance contained in International Standard on Review Engagements 2410 (UK) "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Financial Reporting Council. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have formed.

Ernst & Young LLP Edinburgh

15 December 2022

Interim Condensed Financial Statements

Director's Responsibilities

Interim Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the Interim period ended 30 September 2022

1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021
Notes Revenue
(£)
Capital
(£)
Total
(£)
Revenue
(£)
Capital
(£)
Total
(£)
Net gain on investments at fair value
through profit and loss
23,905,375 23,905,375 11,096,979 11,096,979
Investment income 2,575,055 2,575,055 1,969,922 1,969,922
Administrative and other expenses (3,795,540) (3,795,540) (2,261,238) (2,261,238)
(Loss)/profit before tax (1,220,485) 23,905,375 22,684,890 (291,316) 11,096,979 10,805,663
Taxation 4
(Loss)/profit after tax and profit for the
period (1,220,485) 23,905,375 22,684,890 (291,316) 11,096,979 10,805,663
Total comprehensive income for the
period (1,220,485) 23,905,375 22,684,890 (291,316) 11,096,979 10,805,663
Profit per share (basic and diluted) –
pence per share 5 4.81 4.20

All Revenue and Capital items in the above statement are derived from continuing operations.

The Total column of this statement represents Company's Income Statement prepared in accordance with UK adopted International Accounting Standards. The total profit after tax for the period is the total comprehensive income and therefore no additional statement of other comprehensive income is presented.

The supplementary revenue and capital columns are presented for information purposes in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice issue by the Association of Investment Companies.

Interim Condensed Statement of Financial Position

As at 30 September 2022

Company Number 11160422

30 September 2022 31 March 2022
Notes (£) (£)
Non – Current Assets
Investments at fair value through profit or loss 6 231,567,953 180,762,419
231,567,953 180,762,419
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 162,941,390 198,047,440
Short-term investments 8 140,000,000
Trade and other receivables 1,138,459 46,476
304,079,849 198,093,916
Total assets 535,647,802 378,856,335
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 854,383 2,375,241
854,383 2,375,241
Total net assets 534,793,419 376,481,094
Shareholders equity
Share capital 10 4,813,995 3,450,358
Share premium 10 415,686,632 269,708,123
Special reserve 10 186,656 186,656
Capital reduction reserve 10 30,544,181 42,258,892
Capital reserve 10 88,662,967 64,757,592
Revenue reserve 10 (5,101,012) (3,880,527)
Total shareholders equity 534,793,419 376,481,094
Net asset value per share 9 1.11 1.09

The annual financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors and are signed on its behalf by:

Patrick Cox

Chair

Date: 15 December 2022

Interim Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity

For the Period Ended 30 September 2022

Share
capital
(£)
Share
premium
reserve
(£)
Special
reserve
(£)
Capital
reduction
reserve
(£)
Capital
reserve
(£)
Revenue
reserve
(£)
Total
shareholders
equity
(£)
As at 1 April 2022 3,450,358 269,708,123 186,656 42,258,892 64,757,592 (3,880,527) 376,481,094
Profit/(loss) for the period 23,905,375 (1,220,485) 22,684,890
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for
the period
23,905,375 (1,220,485) 22,684,890
Transactions with owners
Ordinary shares issued at a premium
during the period
1,363,637 148,636,363 150,000,000
Share issue costs (2,657,854) (2,657,854)
Dividends paid (11,714,711) (11,714,711)
As at 30 September 2022 4,813,995 415,686,632 186,656 30,544,181 88,662,967 (5,101,012) 534,793,419

Capital reduction reserve and revenue reserves are available to the Company for distributions to Shareholders as determined by the Directors.

For the Period Ended 30 September 2021

Share
capital
(£)
Share
premium
reserve
(£)
Special
reserve
(£)
Capital
reduction
reserve
(£)
Capital
reserve
(£)
Revenue
reserve
(£)
Total
shareholders
equity
(£)
As at 1 April 2021 1,438,717 107,713,725 186,656 17,446,348 21,226,187 (2,876,692) 145,134,941
Profit/(loss) for the period 11,096,979 (291,316) 10,805,663
Total comprehensive income/(loss) for
the period
11,096,979 (291,316) 10,805,663
Transactions with owners
Ordinary shares issued at a premium
during the period
1,323,529 133,676,471 135,000,000
Share issue costs (2,874,699) (2,874,699)
Dividends paid (2,762,247) (2,762,247)
As at 30 September 2021 2,762,246 238,515,497 186,656 14,684,101 32,323,166 (3,168,008) 285,303,658

Capital reduction reserve and revenue reserves are available to the Company for distributions to Shareholders as determined by the Directors.

Interim Condensed Statement of Cash Flows

For the Period Ended 30 September 2022

1 April 2021 to 1 April 2020 to
30 September
2022
30 September
2021
Notes (£) (£)
Cash flows used in operating activities provided by
Profit for the period 22,684,890 10,805,663
Net gain on investments at fair value through profit and loss (23,905,375) (11,096,979)
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables (1,091,983) 4,348,473
Decrease in trade and other payables (1,520,858) (731,834)
Net cash (used in)/generated from operating activities provided by (3,833,326) 3,325,323
Cash flows used in investing activities
Purchase of investments (26,900,159) (20,279,016)
Purchase of short-term investments (140,000,000)
Net cash used in investing activities (166,900,159) (20,279,016)
Cash flows used in financing activities provided by
Proceeds from issue of ordinary shares at a premium 150,000,000 135,000,000
Share issue costs (2,657,854) (2,874,699)
Dividends paid (11,714,711) (2,762,247)
Net cash inflow from financing activities 135,627,435 129,363,054
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents for the period (35,106,050) 112,409,361
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 198,047,440 60,152,317
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period 162,941,390 172,561,678

During the period, interest received by the Company totalled £2,575,055 (2021: £1,969,922).

For the Period Ended 30 September 2022

1. General information

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc (the "Company") was incorporated in England and Wales on 19 January 2018 with registered number 11160422. The registered office of the Company is First Floor, 16-17 Little Portland Street, London, W1W 8BP.

Its share capital is denominated in Pound Sterling (GBP) and currently consists of ordinary shares. The Company's principal activity is to invest in a diversified portfolio of utility scale energy storage projects primarily located in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, although the Company has recently acquired projects in North America and Germany.

2. Basis of preparation

STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE

The half yearly condensed financial statements for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting, and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

The half yearly financial statements do not include all the information and disclosures required in the annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the Company's annual financial statements as at 31 March 2022.

The same accounting policies, presentation and methods of computation are followed in these condensed financial statements as were applied in the preparation of the Company's annual financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022. These accounting policies will be applied in the Company's financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis except for the investments which are accounted for at fair value through profit or loss. The Company is an investment entity in accordance with IFRS 10 which holds all its subsidiaries at fair value and therefore prepares separate accounts only and does not prepare consolidated financial statements for the Company.

The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2022 has been extracted from the latest published audited financial statements which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The Independent Auditor's Report on those accounts contained no qualification or statement under Section 498 (2), (3) or (4) of the Companies Act 2006.

The financial information contained in this Half Year Report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Sections 434-436 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2022 and 30 September 2021 has not been audited by the Company's external auditor.

The financial statements do not contain any operating segment information on the basis that there is only one reportable segment.

FUNCTIONAL AND PRESENTATION CURRENCY

The currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates (the functional currency) is Pound Sterling ("GBP or £") which is also the presentation currency.

GOING CONCERN

The going-concern analysis assumes continued annual expenditure at the rate of current expenditure and continued discretionary dividend payments to shareholders at the target annual rate of 7% of NAV subject to a minimum target rate of 7 pence per Ordinary Share. With expenditure and discretionary dividends assumed unchanged, the Company will continue to be operational and will have excess cash after payment of its liabilities for at least 12 months until 31 December 2023. Although the Company's articles of association require that a proposal for the continuation of the Company be put forward at the Company's next AGM due to be held after the publication of the Company's annual report for the year ended 31 March 2023, the Directors have no reason to believe that such a resolution will not be passed by shareholders.

As at 30 September 2022, the Company had net current assets of £303.23 million including cash balances of £162.94 million (excluding cash balances within investee companies) and short term investments of £140 million, which are sufficient to meet current obligations as they fall due. The major cash outflows of the Company are the payment of dividends and costs relating to the acquisition of new assets, both of which are discretionary. The Company is a guarantor to GSES1 Limited's £15m revolving credit facility with Santander. The Company had no outstanding debt as of 30 September 2022.

2. Basis of preparation (continued)

The Directors acknowledge their responsibilities in relation to the financial statements for the half year ended 30 September 2022 and the preparation of the financial statement on a going concern basis remains appropriate and the Company expects to meet its obligations as and when they fall due for at least 12 months until 31 December 2023.

3. Significant accounting judgements, estimates and assumptions

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amount of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to the accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.

During the period the Directors considered the following significant judgements, estimates and assumptions:

ASSESSMENT AS AN INVESTMENT ENTITY

Entities that meet the definition of an investment entity within IFRS 10 are required to measure their subsidiaries at fair value through profit or loss rather than consolidate them unless they provided investment related services to the Company. To determine that the Company continues to meet the definition of an investment entity, the Company is required to satisfy the following three criteria:

  • a) the Company obtains funds from one or more investors for the purpose of providing those investors with investment management services;
  • b) the Company commits to its investors that its business purpose is to invest funds solely for returns from capital appreciation, investment income, or both; and
  • c) the Company measures and evaluates the performance of substantially all of its investments on a fair value basis.

The Company meets the criteria as follows:

  • the stated strategy of the Company is to deliver stable returns to shareholders through a mix of energy storage investments;
  • the Company provides investment management services and has several investors who pool their funds to gain access to infrastructure related investment opportunities that they might not have had access to individually; and
  • the Company has elected to measure and evaluate the performance of all of its investments on a fair value basis. The fair value method is used to represent the Company's performance in its communication to the market, including investor presentations. In addition, the Company reports fair value information internally to Directors, who use fair value as the primary measurement attribute to evaluate performance.

Having assessed the criteria above and in their judgement, the Directors are of the opinion that the Company has all the typical characteristics of an investment entity and continues to meet the definition in the standard. This conclusion will be reassessed on an annual basis.

VALUATION OF INVESTMENTS

Significant estimates in the Company's financial statements include the amounts recorded for the fair value of the investments. By their nature, these estimates and assumptions are subject to measurement uncertainty and the effect on the Company's financial statements of changes in estimates in future periods could be significant. These estimates are discussed in more detail in note 7.

4. Taxation

The Company is recognised as an Investment Trust Company ("ITC") for accounting periods beginning on or after 25 May 2018 and is taxed at the main rate of 19%.

30 September 30 September
2022
(£)
2021
(£)
(a) Tax charge in profit and loss account
UK Corporation tax
(b) Reconciliation of the tax charge for the period
Profit before tax 22,684,890 10,805,663
Tax at UK standard rate of 19% 4,310,129 2,053,076
Effects of:
Unrealised gain on fair value investments (4,542,021) (2,108,426)
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 6,026 861
Other differences 5,700
Deferred tax not recognised 225,866 48,789
Tax charge for the period
Estimated losses not recognised due to insufficient evidence of future profits 3,338,021 903,422
Estimated deferred tax thereon 25% (2021: 25%) 834,505 225,855

As at 30 September 2022, the Company has excess management expenses that are available to offset future tax revenues. A deferred tax asset, measured at the prospective corporate rate of 25% (2021: 25%) of £834,505 (2021: £225,855) has not been recognised in respect of these expenses since they are recoverable only to the extent that the Company has sufficient future taxable revenue.

5. Earnings per share

Earnings per share (EPS) amounts are calculated by dividing the profit or loss for the period attributable to ordinary equity holders of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period. As there are no dilutive instruments outstanding, basic and diluted earnings per share are identical.

30 September
2022
30 September
2021
Net gain attributable to ordinary shareholders £22,684,890 £10,805,663
Weighted average number of ordinary shares for the period 471,712,444 257,420,379
Profit per share – Basic and diluted (pence) 4.81 4.20

6. Investments

Place of business Percentage
ownership
30 September
2022
30 September
2021
GSES1 Limited ("GSES1") England & Wales 100% 231,567,953 112,070,270

The Company meets the definition of an investment entity. Therefore, it does not consolidate its subsidiaries or equity method account for associates but, rather, recognises them as investments at fair value through profit or loss. The Company is not contractually obligated to provide financial support to the subsidiaries and associate and there are no restrictions in place in passing monies up the structure.

The investment in GSES1 is financed through equity and a loan facility available to GSES1. The facility may be drawn upon, to any amount agreed by the Company as lender, and is available for a period of 20 years from 28 June 2018. The rest is funded through equity. The amount drawn on the facility at 30 September 2022 was £142,909,431 (31 March 2022: £116,009,272). The loan is interest bearing and attracts interest at 5% per annum. Investments in the indirect subsidiaries are also structured through loan and equity investments and the ultimate investments are in energy storage facilities.

6. Investments (continued)

Realisation of increases in fair value in the indirect subsidiaries will be passed up the structure as distributions on the equity investment. The Company holds a direct investment in GSES 1, which in turn holds investments in various holding companies and operating assets as detailed in Note 6 below.

Percentage
Immediate Parent Place of business Ownership Investment
GSF Albion Limited ("GSF Albion") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
NK Boulby Energy Storage Limited GSF Albion England & Wales 99.998% Boulby
Kiwi Power ES B GSF Albion England & Wales 49% Cenin
Ferrymuir Energy Storage Limited GSF Albion England & Wales 100% Ferrymuir
GSF England Limited ("GSF England") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
OSSPV001 Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Lower Road and Port of
Tilbury
Ancala Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Beeches, Blue House
Farm, Brookhall, Fell
View, Grimsargh,
Hermitage, Heywood
Grange, High Meadow,
Hungerford, Low
Burntoft
Breach Farm Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Breach Farm
Hulley Road Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Hulley Road
Larport Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Larport
Lascar Battery Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Lascar
Stony Energy Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Stony
Enderby Battery Storage Limited GSF England England & Wales 100% Enderby
GSF IRE Limited ("GSF IRE") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
Mullavilly Energy Limited GSF IRE Northern Ireland 51% Mullavilly
Drumkee Energy Limited GSF IRE Northern Ireland 51% Drumkee
Porterstown Battery Storage Limited GSF IRE Republic of Ireland 51% Kilteel
Kilmannock Battery Storage Limited GSF IRE Republic of Ireland 51% Kilmannock
GSF Atlantic Limited ("GSF Atlantic") GSES1 England & Wales 100%
GSF Americas Inc. ("GSF Americas")(1) GSF Atlantic North America 100%
GSF Green Power Cremzow Gmbh & Co KG GSF Atlantic Germany 90% Cremzow
GSF Green Power Cremzow Verwaltungs GmbH GSF Atlantic Germany 90% Cremzow
Snyder ESS Assets, LLC(1) GSF Americas North America 100% Snyder
Sweetwater ESS Assets, LLC(1) GSF Americas North America 100% Sweetwater
Westover ESS Assets, LLC(1) GSF Americas North America 100% Westover
Mineral Wells ESS Assets, LLC(1) GSF Americas North America 100% Mineral Wells
Cedar Hill ESS Assets, LLC(2) GSF Americas North America 100% Cedar Hill
Wichita Falls ESS Assets, LLC(2) GSF Americas North America 100% Wichita Falls
Mesquite ESS Assets, LLC(2) GSF Americas North America 100% Mesquite

(1) The acquisition of Snyder ESS Assets, LLC, Sweetwater ESS Assets, LLC, Westover ESS Assets, LLC and Mineral Wells ESS Assets, LLC was completed on 22 April 2022.

(2) The acquisition of Cedar Hill ESS Assets, LLC, Wichita Falls ESS Assets, LLC and Mesquite ESS Assets, LLC was completed on 26 August 2022.

6. Investments (continued)

All subsidiaries that have a place of business in England & Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of GSES 1, are registered at 8th Floor, 100 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AG from 5 September 2022 (18th Floor, The Scalpel, 52 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7AF up until 5 September 2022).

GSES 1 is registered at 1st Floor, 16-17 Little Portland, London, England, W1W 8BP from 5 September 2022 (18th Floor, The Scalpel, 52 Lime Street, London, EC3M 7AF up until 5 September 2022).

All subsidiaries that have a place of business in Republic of Ireland are registered at 4th Floor, 76 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 from 5 September 2022 (Block C, 77 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin, D02 VK60, Republic of Ireland up until 5 September 2022).

GSF Cremzow GmbH & Co KG and GSF Cremzow Verwaltungs GmbH are registered at Schenkenberg, Gut Dauerthal 3, 17291.

All subsidiaries with a place of business in North America are registered at 2093A Philadelphia Pike, Suite 312, Claymont, DE 19703.

7. Fair Value measurement

VALUATION APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

There are three traditional valuation approaches that are generally accepted and typically used to establish the value of a business; the income approach, the market approach and the net assets (or cost based) approach. Within these three approaches, several methods are generally accepted and typically used to estimate the value of a business.

The Company has chosen to utilise the income approach, which indicates value based on the sum of the economic income that an asset, or group of assets, is anticipated to produce in the future. Therefore, the income approach is typically applied to an asset that is expected to generate future economic income, such as a business that is considered a going concern. Free cash flow to total invested capital is typically the appropriate measure of economic income. The income approach is the DCF approach and the method discounts free cash flows using an estimated discount rate (WACC).

VALUATION PROCESS

In the period the Company acquired 69.65 MW in ERCOT from Perfect Power LLC across seven projects in total, each of 9.95MW. This brings the Company's portfolio of energy storage assets to a total capacity of 698.2 MW (March 2022: 628.5 MW). As at 30 September 2022, 291.6 MW of the Company's total portfolio was operational and 406.6 MW pre-operational (the "Investments").

The Investments comprise twenty seven projects, all of these are based in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, mainland Europe or North America. The Directors review and approve these valuations following appropriate challenge and examination. The current portfolio consists of non-market traded investments and valuations are analysed using forecasted cash flows of the assets and used the discounted cash flow approach as the primary approach for the purpose of the valuation. The Company engages external, independent and qualified valuers to determine or review the fair value of certain of the Company's investments.

As at 30 September 2022, the fair value of any investment held with a value greater than 2.2% of the total net asset value of the portfolio, have been determined, (presented by the Investment Advisor and reviewed) by BDO LLP and further presented and reviewed by the Company's Board of Directors.

The fair value of all other investments have been determined by the Investment Advisor and presented directly to and reviewed by the Company's Board of Directors.

7. Fair Value measurement (continued)

The below table summarises the significant unobservable inputs to the valuation of investments.

Significant Inputs Fair Value
Investment Portfolio Valuation
technique
Description (Range) 30 September
2022
(£)
31 March
2022
(£)
Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) DCF Discount Rate
Revenue/MW/hour
7% – 10%
£5 – £20
101,970,831 89,350,935
Northern Ireland DCF Discount Rate
Revenue/MW/hour
8% – 9%
€5 – €20
53,469,138 57,076,847
Republic of Ireland DCF Discount Rate
Revenue/MW/hour
8% – 10%
€5 – €15
25,420,739 17,595,232
Other OECD DCF Discount Rate 9% 46,953,608 12,583,705
Revenue/MW/hour €5 – €30 /
Holding Companies NAV \$10 – \$30 3,753,637 4,155,700
Total Investments 231,567,953 180,762,419

The fair value of the holding companies represents the net current assets including cash, held within those companies in order to settle any operational costs.

SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

The below table reflects the range of sensitivities in respect of the fair value movements of the Company's investments.

Significant Inputs Estimated effect on Fair Value
Investment Portfolio Valuation
technique
Description Sensitivity 30 September
2022
(£)
31 March
2022
(£)
Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) DCF Revenue + 10% 22,262,000 46,600,000
- 10% (22,767,000) (28,312,000)
Discount rate +1% (11,178,000) (12,378,000)
-1% 12,765,000 14,357,000
Northern Ireland DCF Revenue + 10% 5,374,000 9,984,000
- 10% (5,325,000) (10,034,000)
Discount rate +1% (3,236,000) (3,226,000)
-1% 3,687,000 3,675,000
Republic of Ireland DCF Revenue + 10% 5,359,000 4,404,000
- 10% (9,351,000) (4,937,000)
Discount rate +1% (6,227,000) (3,242,000)
-1% 7,300,000 3,772,222
Other OECD DCF Revenue + 10% 5,010,000 3,698,000
- 10% (5,187,000) (4,465,000)
Discount rate +1% (1,833,000) (704,000)
-1% 2,069,000 804,000

High case (+10%) and low case (-10%) revenue information used to determine sensitivities are provided by third party pricing sources.

7. Fair Value measurement (continued)

VALUATION OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The investments at fair value through profit or loss are Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy and the reconciliation in the movement of this Level 3 investment is presented below. No transfers between levels took place during the period.

30 September 31 March
2022 2022
Reconciliation (£) (£)
Opening balance 180,762,419 80,694,275
Purchases during the period/year 26,900,159 56,536,739
Total fair value movement through profit and loss 23,905,375 43,531,405
231,567,953 180,762,419

A minority shareholder of Boulby has a right to receive a certain share of Boulby distributions once NK Energy Solutions realises excess return over an agreed hurdle return from its investment into Boulby.

Based on free cash flow forecast used to compute the net asset value of Boulby for this period, it is not expected to reach the threshold return and thus no payment to the minority shareholder is taken into account. However, if the actual cash flow significantly exceeds the forecast cash flow used for current net asset value, a part of the excess cash flow may be distributed to the minority shareholder, impacting the ultimate fair value.

8. Short-term investments

Short-term investments include cash deposits held with Barclays Bank plc and Santander UK plc, both reputable financial institutions each with a Moody's credit rating of A1. Both deposits have a maturity period of 6 months, £100m maturing in November 2022 and £40m maturing in January 2023. As at 30 September 2022, the total short-term investments amounted to £140m (2021: £nil).

9. Net asset value per share

Basic NAV per share is calculated by dividing the Company's net assets as shown in the Statement of Financial Position that are attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company by the number of ordinary shares outstanding at the end of the period. As there are no dilutive instruments outstanding, basic and diluted NAV per share are identical.

30 September
2022
31 March
2022
Net assets per Statement of Financial Position £534,793,419 £376,481,094
Ordinary shares in issue as at 30 September/31 March 481,399,478 345,035,842
NAV per share – Basic and diluted (pence) 111.09 109.11

10. Share capital and reserves

Share Capital
Share premium Special reduction Capital Revenue
capital reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Total
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
At 1 April 2021 3,450,358 269,708,123 186,656 42,258,892 64,757,592 (3,880,527) 376,481,094
Issue of ordinary £0.01 shares:
14 April 2022 1,363,637 148,636,363 150,000,000
Share issue costs (2,657,854) (2,657,854)
Dividends paid (11,714,711) (11,714,711)
Profit/(loss) for the period 23,905,375 (1,220,485) 22,684,890
At 30 September 2022 4,813,995 415,686,632 186,656 30,544,181 88,662,967 (5,101,012) 534,793,419
Share
capital
Share
premium
reserve
Special
reserve
Capital
reduction
reserve
Capital
reserve
Revenue
reserve
Total
(£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£)
At 1 April 2021 1,438,717 107,713,725 186,656 17,446,348 21,226,187 (2,876,692) 145,134,941
Issue of ordinary £0.01 shares:
27 April 2021
1,323,529 133,676,471 135,000,000
Issue of ordinary £0.01 shares:
4 October 2021
688,112 72,939,893 73,628,005
Transfer to capital reduction
reserve(1)
(40,000,000) 40,000,000
Share issue costs (4,621,966) (4,621,966)
Dividends paid (15,187,456) (15,187,456)
Profit/(loss) for the year 43,531,405 (1,003,835) 42,527,570
At 31 March 2022 3,450,358 269,708,123 186,656 42,258,892 64,757,592 (3,880,527) 376,481,094

(1) Following the approval at the Company's AGM on the 6 September 2021, the Company made an application to the High Court, together with a lodgement of the Company's statement of capital with the Registrar of Companies, the Company was permitted to reduce the capital of the Company by an amount of £40,000,000. This was affected on the 15 December 2021 by a transfer of that amount from the share premium account to distributable reserves.

SHARE ISSUES

On 14 April 2022, the Company issued 136,363,636 ordinary shares at a price of 101 pence per share, raising net proceeds from the Placing of £150,000,000.

11. Dividends

Dividend
per share
30 September
2022
(£)
30 September
2021
(£)
Dividends paid during the period
For the 3 month period ended 31 March 2021 1 pence 2,762,247
For the 3 month period ended 31 December 2021 2 pence 6,900,716
For the 3 month period ended 31 March 2022 1 pence 4,813,995
11,714,711 2,762,247

An interim dividend of 2 pence for the period 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2021 was proposed by the Directors, and subsequently paid on the 8 April 2022.

An interim dividend of 1 pence for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022 was proposed by the Directors and subsequently paid on 26 August 2022.

12. Transactions with related parties

Since the listing of the ordinary shares in 2018, the Company and the Directors are not aware of any person who, directly or indirectly, jointly or severally, exercises or could exercise control over the Company. The Company does not have an ultimate controlling party.

Details of related parties are set out below:

DIRECTORS

With effect from 1 July 2022, Patrick Cox, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company, is paid a Director's remuneration of £75,000 per annum, (2021: £57,500), Caroline Banszky is paid a Director's remuneration of £55,000 per annum, (2021: £45,000) with the remaining Directors being paid Directors' remuneration of £45,000 per annum, (2021: £40,000).

Total Director's remuneration and associated employment costs of £106,890 were incurred in respect of the period with £nil being outstanding and payable at the period end.

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

The Investment Advisor, Gore Street Capital Limited (the "Investment Advisor"), is entitled to advisory fees under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement amounting to 1% of Adjusted Net Asset Value. The advisory fee will be calculated as at each NAV calculation date and payable quarterly in arrears.

For the avoidance of doubt, where there are C Shares in issue, the advisory fee will be charged on the Net Asset Value attributable to the Ordinary Shares and C Shares respectively.

For the purposes of the quarterly advisory fee, Adjusted Net Asset Value means:

  • a. for the four quarters from First Admission, Adjusted Net Asset Value shall be equal to Net Asset Value;
  • b. for the next two quarters, Adjusted Net Asset Value shall be equal to Net Asset Value minus Cash on the Company's Statement of Financial Position, plus any committed Cash on the Company's Statement of Financial Position;
  • c. thereafter, Adjusted Net Asset Value shall be equal to Net Asset Value minus Cash on the Company's Statement of Financial Position.

During the prior year, the management agreement was amended to change the term of adjusted NAV to mean net asset value minus uncommitted cash. Uncommitted cash means all cash on the Company's balance sheet other than committed cash. Committed

cash means cash that has been allocated for repayment of a liability on the balance sheet of any member of the group. Investment advisory fees of £2,160,498 (30 September 2021: £1,353,252) were paid during the period, there were no outstanding fees as at 30 September 2022, (31 March 2022: £nil outstanding).

INVESTMENT ADVISOR

In addition to the advisory fee, the Advisor is entitled to a performance fee by reference to the movement in the Net Asset Value of Company (before subtracting any accrued performance fee) over the Benchmark from the date of admission on the London Stock Exchange.

The Benchmark is equal to (a) the gross proceeds of the Issue at the date of admission increased by 7 per cent. per annum (annually compounding), adjusted for: (i) any increases or decreases in the Net Asset Value arising from issues or repurchases of Ordinary Shares during the relevant calculation period; (ii) the amount of any dividends or distributions (for which no adjustment has already been made under (i)) made by the Company in respect of the Ordinary Shares at any time from date of admission; and (b) where a performance fee is subsequently paid, the Net Asset Value (after subtracting performance fees arising from the calculation period) at the end of the calculation period from which the latest performance fee becomes payable increased by 7 per cent. per annum (annually compounded).

The calculation period will be the 12 month period starting 1 April and ending 31 March in each calendar year with the first year commencing on the date of admission on the London Stock Exchange.

The performance fee payable to the Investment Advisor by the Company will be a sum equal to 10 per cent. of such amount (if positive) by which Net Asset Value (before subtracting any accrued performance fee) at the end of a calculation period exceeds the Benchmark provided always that in respect of any financial period of the Company (being 1 April to 31 March each year) the performance fee payable to the Investment Advisor shall never exceed an amount equal to 50 per cent of the Advisory Fee paid to the Investment Advisor in respect of that period. Performance fees are payable within 30 days from the end of the relevant calculation period. Performance fees of £318,177 were accrued for the period ended 30 September 2022, (31 March 2022: £1,545,369).

During the period the Investment Advisor provided operations management services to SPV companies resulting in charges to the amount of £419,574 (31 March 2022: £781,600) being payable by the SPV companies to the Investment Advisor.

13. Capital commitments

The Company together with its direct subsidiary, GSES1 Limited entered into Facility and Security Agreements with Santander UK PLC in May 2021 for £15 million. Under these agreements, the Company acts as chargor and guarantor to the amounts borrowed under the Agreements by GSES1 Limited. As at 30 September 2022, no amounts had been drawn on this facility.

The Company had no contingencies and significant capital commitments as at the 30 September 2022.

14. Post balance sheet events

The Directors have evaluated the need for disclosures and/or adjustments resulting from post balance sheet events through to 15 December 2022, the date the financial statements were available to be issued.

The Board approved on the 20 September 2022, the issuance of an interim dividend of 2 pence per share. This dividend totalling £9,627,989.56 was paid to investors on the 21 October 2022.

Following the approval at the Company's AGM on the 20 September 2022, the Company made an application to the High Court, together with a lodgement of the Company's statement of capital with the Registrar of Companies, the Company was permitted to reduce the capital of the Company by an amount of £100,000,000. This was effected on the 28 November 2022 by a transfer of that amount from the share premium account to distributable reserves.

Post year end, the Company acquired the project rights for Project Middleton, a 200 MW project located in Great Britain, for £11,629,145.41.

14. Post balance sheet events (continued)

Following a review, the Company has agreed with the Investment Manager and its subsidiary, Gore Street Operational Management Limited (the "Operations Manager"), that with effect from 16 December 2022, the AIFM Agreement between the Company and the Investment Manager and the Commercial Management Agreement ("CMA") between the Company and the Operations Manager will be amended. The notice period under the CMA has been increased from 6 months to 12 months in order to align with the notice period under the AIFM Agreement. Amendments have also been made to both agreements: (i) to provide that in the specific event of a takeover offer for the Company becoming wholly unconditional, the agreements will terminate automatically with no requirement for notice to be served; and (ii) to prescribe certain fees that will then become payable to the Investment Manager and the Operations Manager on such termination. Based on the amounts involved, the changes to the AIFM Agreement and CMA constitute a smaller related party transaction as set out in the FCA's Listing Rule 11.1.10R. Further details are on page 26 of the report.

There were no adjusting post balance sheet events and as such no adjustments have been made to the valuation of assets and liabilities as at 30 September 2022.

www.gsenergystoragefund.com

Directors

Patrick Cox - Chair Caroline Banszky Malcolm Robert King Thomas Scott Murley

Registered office

First Floor, 16-17 Little Portland Street, London W1W 8BP

AIFM and Investment Manager

First Floor, 16-17 Little Portland Street, London W1W 8BP

Company Secretary

Gore Street Operational Management Limited, First Floor, 16-17 Little Portland Street, London W1W 8BP

Depositary

INDOS Financial Limited The Scalpel, 18th Floor 52 Lime Street London EC3M 7AF

Independent Auditor

Ernst & Young LLP 144 Morrison Street Edinburgh EH3 8EX United Kingdom

Legal Advisor

Stephenson Harwood LLP 1 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 7SH

Administrator

Sanne Fiduciary Services (UK) Limited 6th Floor 125 London Wall London EC2Y 5AS

Registrar and Receiving Agent

Computershare Investor Services Plc The Pavilions Bridgewater Road Bristol BS13 8AE

Sponsor and Joint Corporate Broker

Shore Capital Limited Cassini House 57 St James Street London SW1A 1LD

Joint Corporate Broker

J.P. Morgan Cazenove Floor 29 25, Bank Street London E14 5JP

Independent Valuer

BDO LLP 55 Baker Street London W1U 7EU

Dealing Codes

ISIN: GB00BG0P0V73 SEDOL: BG0P0V7 Ticker: GSF

Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN)

ZAX2MB.99999.SL.826

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

213800GPUNVGG81G4O21

Shareholder enquiries

The Company's registrar is Computershare Investor Services PLC. Certain details relating to your holding can be checked through the Computershare Investor Centre website. As a security check, specific information needs to be input accurately to gain access to an individual's account. This includes your shareholder reference number, available from your share certificate, dividend confirmation statement or other electronic communications you have previously received from Computershare. The address of the Computershare website is investorcentre.co.uk.

Alternatively, please contact the registrar on 0370 707 1741. Changes of name or address must be notified in writing either through Computershare's website, or by wiring to the registrar at: Computershare Investor Services PLC The Pavilions Bridgwater Road Bristol BS99 6ZZ

Gore Street Capital Limited First Floor 16-17 Little Portland Street London England W1W 8BP

The paper stock used in this report is manufactured at a mill that is FSC accredited. The manufacture of the paper in this report has been Carbon Balanced. The print factory is FSC accredited and has the Environmental ISO 14001 accreditation.

www.gsenergystoragefund.com

Gore Street Energy Storage Fund plc alf Year Report for the six months ended 30 September 2022

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