The board of the embattled ThomasLloyd Energy Impact (TLEI ) has appointed Octopus Energy Generation as its transitional investment manager, giving the firm until 30 April next year to help turn around the suspended investment trust.

TLEI has agreed terms with the specialist energy investment manager, which runs the £608m Octopus Renewables Infrastructure (ORIT ), to oversee the current £177m portfolio, including the construction of the suspended Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMS) project in India and the development of another solar PV project in Maharashtra.

However, the immediate priority is to resume trading in the shares, which have been suspended since April, by finalising the 2022 and 2023 interim accounts.

The board said it would ‘provide the expected timeline’ for these activities following the finalisation of the appointment.

Octopus will work for the trust until 30 April next year. It will receive a fixed fee of $1.35m (£1.11m) and be eligible for a $550,000 performance fee at the discretion of the board.

The firm, which has £6bn in assets under management, and the board will work with ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management, the outgoing investment manager, to ‘facilitate an orderly handover of information and responsibilities’.  

Sue Inglis, the trust’s chair, said Octopus ‘brings significant renewable energy infrastructure development, construction, investment and asset management expertise and listed investment company experience’. She said this along with the strength of the team ‘will be critical’ in lifting the suspension of shares.

Matt Setchell, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team in London and Singapore, said his staff ‘are ready to help the company achieve its immediate priorities thereby allowing it to resume its mission to accelerate the green energy transition and meet net zero’.

The board, which survived a shareholder vote earlier this week, will continue to review options for the company’s future, including assessing proposals for a re-launch.