Entrepreneur widening business in green ventures

Sean O'Connor, 29, set up Clean Energy Capital (CEC) three years ago after earlier acquiring a property portfolio across the North-East. He said he had not invested in apartments, which stung buy-to-let landlords during the recession.

Now CEC, which is based in Leeds and also has offices in London and Sunderland, wants to pick up more work in Britain and abroad, with China, India and America expected to be growth areas.

The clean-energy finance firm has taken part in projects including energy-efficient construction, algae, biofuels, waste-to-energy and oil management.

Mr O'Connor said: "We got into the marketplace at the right time. People are saying, 'how do I make money from a green perspective?' We have managed to be in the niche."

CEC hopes to expand over the next 18 months as the popularity of green ventures increases and institutions and wealthy individuals look for new ways to invest after the financial crisis.

International concern over climate change and energy security, particularly in Western governments, is creating commercial opportunities.

Although CEC expects to turn over 110m this year from emissions trading, Mr O'Connor described the 5m turnover funding arm as the core of the business because it has a significantly higher margin.

The trading side has only a 1-2 per cent profit margin, he said, and works through buying and selling carbon allocations between banks and industrials regulated by the EU emissions trading scheme. CEC will also soon start buying and selling power contracts.

Once a green project or technology has been identified, CEC works out how much capital is needed for the venture and tries to match with investors. If they cannot be found, then CEC approaches institutions, wealthy individuals or financial professional advisors who can put forward their clients.

The business has only 11 staff but its profits last year were 1.25m. It expects to exceed 3m this year.

Mr O'Connor, a sports management graduate from Northumbria University, set up CEC after developing a property portfolio in the last decade.

He entered the market when he was just 23 and launched number of property ventures, also building up a personal property interest of 40 units, worth 5.2m today.

As the market slowed, he spent a year considering what the next big trend might be before opting for the green market.