Toucan Energy enters administration owing Thurrock Council £655m
A renewable energy company that owes £655m to a debt-ridden council has entered administration.
ry-run Thurrock Council, in Essex, helped Toucan Energy Holdings 1 (TEH1) finance 53 of the company's solar farms in the UK - as first reported by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Administrators were appointed for the business on Thursday.
uncil's leader called it a "significant step to reducing our overall debt" which had reached £1.5bn.
uthority's loans to TEH1 have been detailed in a financial statement for Perpetual Power (UK) Holdings Ltd, lodged with Companies House, covering the year to 31 December 2020.
﻿he government appointed Essex County Council to step in and act as a commissioner for Thurrock earlier this year, taking over all major decisions, because of the "serious financial situation".
﻿he previous Conservative council leader and former cabinet member for finance resigned.
uncil ran up debts of £1.5bn, although it was reported at a council meeting last week that it had already paid back £177.5m to other local authorities.
Current council leader Mark Coxshall said: "This is a positive move forward in enabling Thurrock Council to resolve its financial position and maximise recovery for Thurrock residents."
He said he was "confident" the decision on administration would make for a "significant step to reducing our overall debt".
Jim Tucker, from Interpath Advisory - the administrators of TEH1, said the 53 solar parks, which have a combined capacity of 513MW, "continue to operate as normal".
He said they would work closely with Thurrock Council, which was the company's "major creditor", and added: "Given their [the solar farms'] significant underlying cash generation, we expect considerable interest in the assets."
rocess of administration involves an insolvency practitioner trying to save a business from going bust.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk