The progress of the company, in which LCA had a significant minority stake, had lagged the investment firm’s expectations.

The buyer is Frankfurt-listed renewable energy company EnergyMixx, which will pay up to £2.93 million in its own shares for the Heliodynamics holding, depending on the business’ performance. An initial tranche of £1.1 million has already been paid.

According to LCA, the holding had a carrying value of £825,000, so the initial consideration represents an uplift in the company’s net asset value. However, all shares received in the deal are subject to a lock-in until the end of 2008.

Steve Mahon, chief investment officer at LCA, says: ‘With this deal we have secured a strategic partner for Heliodynamics, while retaining a stake in what we think is a very bright future for its solar technology.’

Mahon adds: ‘We are reducing the risk for LCA and accelerating the development for Heliodynamics.’

Heliodynamics has developed technology that produces electricity and heat by using mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight.

LCA is a closed-ended investment company which raised £44.5 million in its initial public offering on AIM in October 2006. The company usually takes stakes of between 25 and 49 per cent in unquoted companies developing products or services that cut carbon emissions.