Australian company RELA has launched a UK offering, RELA Repay, after acquiring a portfolio of renewable energy leasing interests.
RELA is an intermediary platform that enables landowners, especially those in rural areas, to monetize their properties through leasing agreements with renewable energy developers. According to the company, once completed, the portfolio acquisition will mean RELA will manage “one of the largest portfolios of renewable energy leases in Britain”.
Both the acquisition and launch were supported by funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management and debt financing of Macquarie Asset Management-managed funds. This should give landowners confidence in the company, RELA said, as it aims to become a “leading counterparty” for landowners looking to engage sustainable developers.
With the support of these major backers, RELA says it can scale up in Britain. The Prepay product, which offers landowners upfront payments for future leases, also taps into this capital.
RELA said the energy leasing markets in Australia and Britain are maturing, and the success in Australia will be built on with the UK market launch.
RELA’s model for landowners is similar to one ‘affinity’ agreement signed in 2024 between the National Farmers Union in Scotland (NFU Scotland) and Iqony Solar Energy Solutions (SENS). It enabled landowners to receive indexed, competitive market rent for the land on which SENSE is developing solar PV installations for up to 40 years.
The Prepay model means that landowners receive this payment upfront in the RELA offering, in addition to being connected to developers through competitive bidding. RELA said it will also ensure landowners can negotiate fair lease agreements with developers.
Stuart Gourley, Chief Product Officer at RELA, said: “Landowners want the flexibility to capitalize on their long-term renewable energy leases to support succession planning, growth, diversification, debt repayment and property acquisitions.
Prepay is purpose-built, backed by leading global institutions and designed to support long-term land and estate planning goals without changing ownership of the underlying land asset.”
