The Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (‘MEEF‘), managed by Amber Fund Management Limited (‘Amber’), has provided a debt and equity funding solution to Vehicle-as-a-Service (‘VaaS’) provider Breathe. Breathe is a London based Small Medium Enterprise (‘SME’) established in 2021, with a mission to clean up London’s air quality by providing zero emissions vehicles to London’s private hire drivers.
Powered by Zeti’s pay-per-mile fintech platform, ‘ZERO’, Breathe will provide more than 100 new Tesla Model 3’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) to private hire drivers, including Uber (NASDAQ: UBER) and replace internal combustion engine vehicles that significantly contribute to air pollution in London.
This project is an important step in tackling London’s air pollution and supports the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s, commitment to zero emission transport in the capital. Every year in London, the equivalent of between 3,600 to 4,100 premature deaths were attributable to air pollution.[1] Forecasts predict that the Breathe fleet will save 338 tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere per annum, significantly contributing towards cleaner air for Londoners.
Breathe provides a complete VaaS subscription solution to drivers including offering insurance, maintenance and tyre replacements. Breathe allows drivers to choose between an ‘Everything Included Ownership’ model where after four years the driver owns the vehicle, or an ‘Everything Included Rental’ model where the driver subscribes for use on a weekly basis.
The Breathe fleet will replace existing petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles with Uber aiming to be an all-electric platform in London from 2025 onwards.
Breathe analytics technology provides the intelligence to proactively manage its operations and through the Zeti ZERO platform, MEEF will be able to monitor real-time data on vehicle telematics and the overall carbon savings of the fleet based on the total mileage.
This is an exciting opportunity for MEEF as it is the fund’s first investment to include both a debt and equity package. MEEF is being supported by Triodos, a leading sustainable bank, who have committed a significant part of MEEF’s capital for the project.
This is MEEF’s fourth investment in the low carbon mobility sector. Eligible projects for MEEF include e-mobility, EV charging, alternative fuel stations and hydrogen fuel cells. Since launching in July 2018, MEEF has made investments in the e-mobility, EV charging infrastructure, district heating, streetlighting and energy efficiency sectors, creating energy savings of over 39 million GWh.
Breathe were advised by their exclusive financial advisor Pantokrator. Zeti were advised on this transaction by EY and MEEF was advised by Energy Pro, Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke.
Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues: “The Mayor has set the ambitious targets to make London net zero carbon by 2030 and protect Londoners from toxic air pollution. This project is another great example of how the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund is supporting schemes that help deliver these goals, and how London can accelerate climate action through a combination of public and private sector investment.
This is exactly the type of innovative investment we need to support drivers to make the transition to zero emission vehicles and help meet our air pollution and climate goals. The Mayor recently committed a further £30 million for MEEF to support further zero carbon transport and infrastructure projects like this.”
Pete Radford, Director of MEEF: “We are delighted that MEEF is supporting Breathe EV to offer a fully managed VaaS product to London’s private hire drivers, and in doing so, helping to accelerate the shift from conventional to electric vehicles in the Capital.”
Jeff Davis, Director of Breathe: “At Breathe our mission is to provide large scale Electric-Vehicles-as-a-Service offerings and we are excited to be starting with sustainable, flexible and affordable vehicle subscription options for London’s private hire market. We are seeing huge demand for electric private hire vehicles and MEEF’s funding allows us to expand our operations and help more drivers step into their first EV.”
Andre Shortell, Managing Partner at Pantokrator: “It has been a joy to work with the Breathe team who have pioneered the all-inclusive EVaaS model to decarbonise urban mobility and ride-sharing. With MEEF, Breathe has found a partner that is equally dedicated to accelerating climate action to meet ambitious air pollution and climate goals.”
Gwyn Rhodes, Head of Business Banking at Triodos Bank UK: “Funding the clean energy transition is key to Triodos’s mission as a sustainable bank and this will become ever more important as we work collectively towards the UK’s net zero target. Breathe’s business model has tangible environmental and social benefits as it will ultimately work to support cleaner air across London.”
Dan Saunders, CEO of Zeti: “Zeti is using fintech to accelerate the adoption of clean, connected transportation by enabling pay-per-mile financing of vehicles. We’re proud to support Breathe and to be using our technology alongside MEEF’s and Triodos’ capital to make this a reality.”
Please contact MEEF (meefinfo@amberinfrastructure.com) to discuss a potential application further.
Further information on MEEF can be found at: www.meef.co.uk
Further information on Amber Infrastructure can be found at: www.amberinfrastructure.com
[1]https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/health-burden-air-pollution-london
NOTES TO EDITORS:
ABOUT MEEF
MEEF was established by the GLA in 2018 and is managed by Amber Infrastructure. MEEF provides a mixture of senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to London’s public-sector property owners and small-to-medium-sized businesses, including but not exclusively, Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, Registered Providers, Higher and Further Education organisations, Charities and Voluntary Organisations, ESCOs and SMEs. MEEF can fund both up to 100 per cent of the capital cost of a project and part-fund large-scale regeneration projects which demonstrate low-carbon credentials.
ABOUT AMBER INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP
Amber Infrastructure (‘Amber’) is a specialist international investment manager, focused on investment origination, asset management and fund management. Amber’s core business focuses on sourcing, developing, advising, investing in and managing infrastructure assets across the public, transport, energy, digital and demographic infrastructure sectors that support the lives of people, homes and businesses internationally.
Amber is headquartered in London with offices in Europe, North America and Australia and employs over 150 infrastructure professionals.
ABOUT EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
MEEF has received up to £51.2 million of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding
ABOUT BREATHE CARS
Breathe provides compelling electric vehicle subscriptions to private hire drivers and businesses, enabling low cost and low commitment motoring without any tailpipe emissions. www.breathe.cars
ABOUT PANTOKRATOR
Pantokrator Ltd provides M&A and capital advisory services to high growth companies in Sustainability. Our 13 years of experience has given us the advantage to spot key areas of future demand and innovation. We leverage this knowledge for our clients helping them to develop robust and future proof businesses, focused on providing a more sustainable world. We have rich industry expertise in New Mobility, Fuel Cells & H2, New Energy & Storage, AgTech, and Circular Economy.
ABOUT ZETI
Zeti sits at the intersection of fintech, mobility and sustainability, unlocking the potential of technology to revolutionise the financing of transport and support the goals of business and society. Established in 2020, Zeti connects transport fleet operators with institutional financiers through its patent-pending FinTech platform, ZERO, to enable pay-per-mile vehicle finance for zero and ultra-low emission connected vehicles. For progressive companies, Zeti’s financial technology makes adopting EVs as simple, transparent and flexible as paying for a utility. Further information can be found at zeti.co.uk