Directors of controversial energy firm invest in Scottish property market

Martin Shipton

Two directors of a controversial Wales-based energy group who made £4.64m each when its assets were revalued have invested in an up-market accommodation company with properties in Scotland.

Stuart George and Lawson Steele are directors of Windward Energy, whose subsidiary Bute Energy wants to build a network of wind farms known as energy parks across mid Wales.

But the plans have faced bitter opposition from local residents and environmentalists, and despite being founded in 2020 the company has yet to erect a single wind turbine or generate any revenue.

Earlier this year Nation.Cymru reported on some interesting financial transactions relating to the group that had come to light.

A briefing note sent to us stated: “Based on the most recent Companies House filings up to early 2026 and investigative analysis of the group’s structure, significant sums of money have been extracted from the Bute Energy and Windward Energy groups by Oliver Millican and other co-promoters.

“These transactions were primarily structured as dividends rather than simple loan repayments, though they involved complex internal corporate manoeuvres to bypass ‘distributable reserve’ restrictions.

“1. The £58 Million Dividend Distribution. The most substantial ‘cash out’ occurred following a restructuring in 2023–2024. According to filings for Windward Energy Limited (the parent entity), a total dividend of £58m was paid out to its shareholders.The breakdown of this distribution based on shareholding percentages is as follows: Oliver Millican, Windward Global Limited, 82%, £47.56m; Stuart George, Windward SG Limited, 8%, £4.64m; Lawson Steele, Windward LS Limited, 8%, £4.64 million; John Reilly, Windward JR Limited, 2%, £1.16m.

“2. The Source of Funds & Corporate ‘Tricks’. The filings reveal that these funds originated from a £60m payment made by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to Bute Energy Development Holdings (BEDH) for a ‘call option’ (the right to buy into energy parks in the future). Because the group had significant accumulated losses and no ‘distributable reserves’ (legal profit available to pay dividends), the directors employed a complex accounting mechanism: revaluation. They revalued their subsidiary companies upwards by £190m based on future cash flow projections.

“Deferred Share Scheme. They converted this revaluation into a ‘deferred share’, which was then cancelled days later to ‘create’ distributable reserves.

“The group utilised fair value accounting (valuing the company on what it might be worth in the future) to pay out cash that was technically provided by external investors (CIP) as part of development funding.”

Boutique aparthotel

It has now emerged that Windward Energy directors Stuart George and Lawson Steele are directors of a Scottish company called LSG Capital, which owns and operates a 21-room boutique “aparthotel” in the heart of the Old Town of Edinburgh.

The company’s website – stayhush.com – states: “As an independent aparthotel, we offer one and two-bed apartments complete with kitchens and generous living areas blending boutique hotel comfort with the flexibility of apartment living.

“More than just a convenient place to stay, Stay Hush is a welcoming, design-led hideaway filled with cosy corners, playful details and local character. A place to both escape the noise and immerse yourself in the city.”

At the time we reported the unusual financial transactions relating to Windward Energy.

‘Extraordinary’

Jenny Chryss, campaign lead for the group RE-think, which opposes the erection of giant wind turbines and pylons across Mid Wales, said: “We at RE-think find it extraordinary that these directors have seen fit to milk £58m in dividends from the business in somewhat doubtful circumstances while many people across Wales have been sick with worry about the effect that the windfarm and power line proposals could have on their livelihoods and property values. At the very least it is crass and thoughtless in the extreme.

“These transactions clearly demonstrate that the proposed wind farms are not primarily for investment in Wales but for investment into the pockets of the four principals. It puts the promise of community benefits of a few million pounds into stark context.

“I wonder how Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners feel about the way that the money has been used, and, more importantly, the pensioners invested in the proposed wind farms through development loans from the Wales Pension Partnership [which manages the pension investments of thousands of public sector workers].”