AQW 9679/17-22

Mr Stewart Dickson
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 04/11/2020
Answered On Date: 30/11/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail the Financial Transactions Capital write-off of £9 million by InvestNI; and what actions are being taken to recoup investments made.

Answer:

Under the Sustainable Utilisation of Poultry Litter (SUPL) Scheme*, Invest NI, alongside a private investor, provided funding towards the build and operation of an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant.

The aim of the project was to help resolve a significant local environmental and economic issue, and to help Northern Ireland comply with EU nitrates targets to positively impact the poultry sector and the wider Northern Ireland economy. Invest NI’s support was by way of a £9.3m commercial loan.

Initial indications show that the project might not reach an outcome that fully covers the investment in the project. Therefore, we have included a provision of £9 million in our accounts should we not be able to achieve a return on our investment. This provision is in line with current accounting standards.

*SUPL is a Department for the Economy and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs scheme, operated by Invest Northern Ireland.