Northern Logistics Group: 500kWp Manchester Big Box PPA

The site

A Big Box logistics distribution centre in Trafford Park, 28,000 m² floor area, single-tenant occupancy on a 22-year remaining lease. Electricity demand 4.2 GWh/year, dominated by lighting, refrigeration (mixed temperature ambient and chilled goods) and automation.

The brief

Group property director wanted PV across the site but the parent company had a hard cap on capex deployment — the brief required a zero-capex structure. The choice was between a PPA, asset finance, or no project.

What we did

PPA shortlisting against three funders. We compared tariff (escalator-adjusted), buyout schedule, and performance guarantees. Atrato won on combined tariff and contract flexibility. We negotiated:

• Headline tariff 5.9p/kWh (vs grid imports at 22.3p/kWh)
• CPI escalator capped at 3.5% annually (vs RPI in initial offer)
• Year-7 buyout option at 78% of remaining asset value (vs initial offer 85%)
• Performance guarantee: 92% of modelled yield in any year, 96% over any 3-year rolling period

The numbers

• PPA capex contribution from operator: £0
• Total system capex (funder cost): £370,000
• PPA tariff year 1: 5.9p/kWh
• Annual electricity cost saving (year 1): £68,000
• Year 25 cumulative saving: £2.3m+ (CPI-adjusted)
• Operator equivalent payback: 5.1 years (PPA savings against the implied capex)

What happened

Commissioned July 2024 within the standard 12-week build window. First-year monitoring shows yield within 1% of model and self-consumption at 81% (vs 78% modelled). Group has since scoped two additional sites for the same PPA framework.

Why it worked

The combination of investment-grade tenant covenant, 22-year lease tenure, and modern roof condition made this a textbook PPA candidate. Tariff economics at this scale and covenant typically sit in the 5.4-6.4p/kWh range; we landed inside that band.