CEFC tips $50m into Packer-backed fund to support carbon abatement “enablers”

The federal government’s green bank has made a cornerstone investment in a fund established to support small and medium businesses in Australia working to “meaningfully” reduce carbon emissions in the wider economy.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation on Tuesday announced the $50 million investment in the Ellerston 2050 Fund – an offshoot of the James Packer-backed Ellerston Capital – which is being matched by another $50 million from Qantas Super.

The CEFC says the open-ended wholesale fund will focus on investing in carbon abatement “enablers,” including listed and unlisted companies with low carbon products, technology and services supporting energy efficiency or the rapid uptake of low emissions technologies.

“We are seeing significant change across corporate Australia as large companies commit to increasingly ambitious emissions reduction targets,” said CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth on Tuesday. 

“As this shift gains momentum, demand for products and services that enable companies to meet these targets will continue to increase and will play an integral role in building carbon reduction across the wider economy. 

“The 2050 Fund is about delivering expert capital to these companies to help accelerate their growth as a part of the low emissions economy of the future.”

According to the Ellerston 2050 Fund website, for inclusion in the portfolio, “companies must, either directly or indirectly, demonstrate a pathway to aiding the abatement of carbon within Australia and the global economy.”

The Fund’s website also notes that investments will generally be made in companies that have sound business franchises with attractive earnings profiles that operate in growth industries and trade at a discount to valuation. 

Ellerston Capital, in which James Packer is a cornerstone shareholder, is run by Ashok Jacob, whose CV includes positions as CEO of Consolidated Press Holdings group and managing director of Thorney Holdings, then the investment arm for the Pratt Group.

According to the website, the 2050 portfolio will be co-managed by David Keelan and Alexandra Clarke, with Daniel Ragonese and James Barker as investment analysts and Aiden Horne as an associate investment analyst.

“As a responsible investor focused on supporting the growth ambitions of small companies as they seek capital and public listing, we are seeing an increasing amount of companies explicitly providing solutions to help the economy transition to net zero emissions,” said Jacob, Ellerston Capital executive chairman and CIO,  of the 2050 Fund on Tuesday. 

“A growing urgency is required to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change and this is recognised by investors such as CEFC and Qantas Super with whom we are proud to be partnering with to address this clear structural growth opportunity.”