Brookfield acquires Atrato Onsite Energy in £220 million deal

Atrato Onsite Energy’s solar installation for M&S, part of its £400 million pipeline. Image: Atrato.

Brookfield Asset Management has acquired Atrato Onsite Energy’s commercial and residential rooftop solar portfolio.

The £220 million deal will see Atrato’s renewable energy management team transition into a newly created business, continuing its mandate to develop and invest in clean energy infrastructure for UK-based corporates. Under Brookfield’s management the company intends to invest around £1 billion by 2030 in rooftop solar.

Atrato’s current pipeline is estimated at around £400 million, including contracts with major customers Tesco, Britvic, M&S and Nissan. The company’s 55MW solar development in Yorkshire, the Skeeby project, came online on 24 October, following Atrato’s £39.4 million investment in the development.

Atrato signed a three-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with UK utility OVO Energy, which will receive 49GWh of electricity yearly from the site.

Brookfield said the acquisition deal, carried out between Brookfield and Real Asset Investment Management and backed by Access Capital Partners and AltamarCam Partners, demonstrates the potential of UK commercial and industrial (C&I) solar.

Juliet Davenport, chair of Atrato Onsite Energy, commented: “Brookfield’s backing will build on the progress that was made as a listed business, enabling the new private company to accelerate investment in the market, delivering clean and economic energy to businesses across the ry.”

Managing partner in Brookfield’s renewable power and transition group Ignacio Paz-Ares noted that the deal marks the group’s first investment in UK rooftop solar. The Canadian investment manager signed an agreement at the end of October that saw it acquire a 12.5% minority stake in four UK offshore wind farms belonging to Danish energy company and developer Ørsted—its first foray into UK offshore wind.

In November 2023, UK utility Octopus Energy’s generation arm acquired a 12.5% stake in the Walney Extension offshore wind development, which has been operational since 2018. Brookfield has a 20% stake in the utility, taken on as part of its acquisition of Australian Origin Energy.

Brookfield has had a stake in Scottish onshore wind, having acquired OnPath Energy (at the time known as Banks Renewables) in 2023 in a deal worth around $1 billion (£820 million).

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