Ares Infrastructure Equity funds, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation, a global alternative investment manager, have acquired a significant minority stake in Statera Energy’s operational energy storage and flexible generation portfolio of approximately 1.9 GW in the UK.

The portfolio includes the 680 MW Carrington Storage project in Greater Manchester and the 750 MW Thurrock Flexible Generation project in Essex.

Macquarie Capital is acting as Statera’s financial adviser on the transaction, while Paul, Weiss is serving as transaction counsel and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer as due diligence counsel.

KPMG served as the financial and tax adviser to Ares, while DLA Piper and Baringa served as legal and commercial advisers, respectively. The transaction terms were not disclosed.

Statera Energy, a UK-based developer and operator of energy storage and flexible generation assets, will continue to own, operate, and manage the portfolio, with Ares joining as a long-term investment partner.

The investment will provide additional capital to support Statera’s growth plans. The company will also continue advancing its 16 GW development pipeline, focusing on flexible energy infrastructure to help balance an electricity system increasingly dependent on renewable energy.

Tom Vernon, Chief Executive Officer at Statera, said, “Ares is one of the world’s leading investors, and its choice of Statera’s portfolio for its first infrastructure equity investment in Europe is an endorsement of our assets and capability as a business. The capital supports our plan to deliver 7 GW of flexible capacity by 2030. We look forward to working with Ares as we continue to build and operate the flexible assets needed for a secure and affordable electricity system in the UK and across Europe”.

According to Mercom’s recently released 1H 2026 Funding and M&A for Energy Storage report, project acquisition activity accelerated sharply during the first half of 2026, with approximately 14 GW of battery storage capacity changing hands in 63 transactions, compared with 6.1 GW in 31 transactions during the same period in 2025.

In September, ENGIE Zielona Energia, a subsidiary of the French utility company ENGIE that operates as a renewable energy provider and producer in Poland, acquired a special purpose vehicle developing a 438 MW/876 MWh battery energy storage project.