EZO reaches financial close on €150 million senior debt facility

Investment-grade, non-recourse financing will support the delivery of more than 3,000 charge points across Ireland and the UK.

EZO has reached financial close on a €150 million investment-grade, non-recourse, senior debt facility. The funding will finance the design, installation, operation and maintenance of over 3,000 charge points, representing over 100,000 kWs of capacity, across the UK and Ireland. These charge points are estimated to generate well in excess of €1 billion in electric energy sales over the next 20 years.

Headquartered in Ireland, EZO operates Ireland’s largest private network of EV charge points across the island and has expanded rapidly into the mainland UK, which by 2027 will become its primary EV charging market.  In addition to providing reliable EV charging infrastructure across both countries, EZO will reduce Ireland and the UK’s carbon footprint by an estimated 357 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next 20 years. This fast-growing business will add significant employment in Ireland, Scotland and other parts of the UK as it expands its network, promotes economic development and delivers essential infrastructure for both urban and rural drivers.

EZO is majority owned by Rubicon Capital Management, together with its affiliated entities including Rubicon Capital Advisors, an Irish regulated investment banking firm (“Rubicon”). Rubicon has been an influential and active partner in developing EZO’s business plan and long-term strategy since it entered the company in 2020 with a 35% stake and which has now risen to over 60%. This includes additional shares acquired in conjunction with the debt financing and the entry into the EZO shareholding group led by Rubicon of Whitehole, a Spanish-based family office with strong expertise in electrification technologies that enable sustainable mobility.

Rubicon also acted as sole financial advisor to EZO in both the equity and debt capital raises and has been retained by the company to explore other capital raising options including a possible IPO in 2028.

The debt financing has been provided by a consortium of lenders including Aberdeen Investments and Standard Life. The investment-grade debt raised for EZO is believed to be the first financing of its type where the funds will be used to install chargers across the UK and Ireland while revenues generated from these chargers will be ring-fenced and used to repay the debt over a 7-year period. This innovative structure is expected to provide a new model for financing EV charging infrastructure that is ready for installation.

The investment will support EZO as it delivers on its long-term business strategy of expanding its public charging network and continuing to invest in the technology, operational capability and client partnerships required to provide reliable, accessible EV charging thereby helping drivers transition away from the continued volatility in rising petrol and diesel prices.

The funding follows a period of significant international growth for EZO, which has secured local authority-backed public charging contracts in the UK with a combined estimated value of over €1.0 billion. These include a 20-year concession contract across four counties in Northern Scotland, a 15-year concession contract across four counties in the English Midlands and a number of other long-term public sector contracts that are to be announced over the next number of months. Building on this momentum, EZO is actively pursuing further opportunities across Scotland, England and Wales as it continues to expand its UK presence.

These concessions include a number of Public-Private Partnership-style features, including desirable charge point locations, flexible price setting, exclusivity over certain regions, assistance with securing permits and grid access, and, for certain concessions, significant subvention funding to support the rollout which is expected to be returned to the public sector over the long-term through attractive revenue sharing mechanisms. As such, this is a true partnership between the public and private sectors combining private sector expertise, delivery capability and innovation with targeted public funding and an appropriate risk allocation.

Alongside its UK expansion, EZO is continuing to expand its public charging network in Ireland through major partnerships with Musgraves and eir. EZO’s partnership with Musgraves will see high-powered charging infrastructure delivered at 43 store locations along key national routes, while EZO and eir are developing 50 purpose-built high-speed charging hubs across Ireland.

Together, these projects demonstrate EZO’s growing role as a prominent EV infrastructure business delivering critical public and commercial charging partnerships across both the UK and Ireland.

EZO CEO, Ollie Chatten said:

“EZO’s clear ambition is to make reliable public EV charging more accessible for drivers and communities and we have now demonstrated we can successfully compete for some of the largest and most significant EV infrastructure opportunities in the United Kingdom, while continuing to grow our network and partnerships at home in Ireland. Our focus is on working with strong public and private sector partners to build charging networks at scale across Ireland, the North of Scotland and the Midlands. The backing of our investment partners gives us the financial strength to deliver on those commitments, continue investing in our people and technology, and pursue the next generation of opportunities in the EV infrastructure market.”

Rubicon CEO, Conor Kelly said:

“This funding represents a significant vote of confidence in EZO, its team and the long-term infrastructure partnerships EZO has secured. We understand this to be the first example of the application of this framework of financing in the EV charging sector and it is expected to become the preferred method of financing this collateral going forward.  We are delighted to have executed upon these transactions for the company which build on Rubicon’s long-term support for EZO and its growth in the sustainable transport infrastructure market.”