Moulton and Hands profit on wind farm

Guy Hands and Jon Moulton, the private equity veterans, have finally seen a Cumbria-based wind farm they acquired in 2006 blow into profit.

By Jonathan Sibun, Deputy City EditorPublished: 6:59PM GMT 03 Jan 2010
Wharrels Hill LLP crept into the black, posting a £62,161 pre-tax profit in the year to April 2009, according to documents filed at Companies House.
That followed losses of £407,000 and £223,000 in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Mr Hands and Mr Moulton own the Wharrels Hill wind farm together with a group of investors that also includes Robert Adair, the multi-millionaire chairman of oil and gas group Melrose Resources.
Revenues from the wind farm rose 60pc to £1.14m, boosted by a £109,000 payment from Nordex UK, a manufacturer of wind turbines, for "revenues lost due to the initial under performance of the wind farm".
Wharrels Hill LLP bought the site from nPower Renewables in May 2006.
On its opening in August 2007, the wind farm near Cockermouth was championed as a project that demonstrated that "city finance and local commitment can be brought together for the wider benefit of the local community".
At the time of the launch FIM Services, the company responsible for operating the wind farm, said it would supply electricity to 5,900 households and save the emission of 23,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide from coal fired power generation.
Mr Moulton, formerly of Alchemy, returned to private equity in December with new venture Better Capital.