In annual results issued today (6 April), the company said that changing the policy, which currently allows the managers to invest up to 10% in Ireland, would increase EBITDA and NAV growth over time by "exporting core competencies including scale advantages, business model and operational capabilities to international markets".
The company would look to invest in major OECD markets with "similarities to the UK in terms of wholesale market structure, renewables growth and penetration".
The report went on to say that certain "attractive" international opportunities may include solar generation equipment, so the company could also propose that up to 20% of the international investment allocation, or 6% of total GAV, could be allocated to solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment.
"There is no intention to invest in what could be thought of as solar projects with collocated batteries; solar PV equipment would always be the minority element," they clarified.
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Other amendments to the investment policy include the option to invest up to 10% in "shovel-ready projects" which they believe would "simplify and accelerate the acquisition process," while also reducing total acquisition cost by 5-10%.
They added this amendment could "facilitate the option of a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange".
Ben Guest, the fund manager said the trust has eight projects in construction and further projects set to enter construction.
"This will deploy all existing equity funds as well as the existing debt facility, improving the company's structure while increasing portfolio cashflow significantly," the manager explained. "Given the supportive market backdrop our focus for 2022 remains on deployment and pipeline execution."
GRID generated a NAV total return for investors of 20.3% in 2021 and the company has given guidance that it is anticipating another strong year, with a NAV of at least 124pps expected by 31 March and to be in the range of 140-145pp by 30 June.
Analysts from Liberum noted the company "has typically been conservative in providing market guidance on performance. The confident projection for 2022 demonstrates the favourable market conditions for trading revenues and visibility on construction profits".