25 January
2024
Bluefield
Solar Income Fund Limited
('Bluefield Solar' or the 'Company')
Completion of Phase One of
the Strategic Partnership with GLIL Infrastructure
('GLIL')
·
Following approval under the National Security and
Investment Act 2021, the Company is pleased to confirm the
completion of its investment of £20 million of equity, alongside
£200 million from GLIL, to fund the acquisition of a 247MW
portfolio of UK solar assets.
·
The Company continues to progress the
provisional agreement for GLIL to acquire a 50%
stake in a portfolio in excess of 100MW owned by Bluefield Solar,
in line with current valuation, which remains
expected to complete in early 2024.
Bluefield Solar (LON: BSIF), the
London listed UK income fund focused primarily on acquiring and
managing solar energy assets, is pleased to report
the completion of phase one
of its long-term strategic partnership ('Strategic Partnership') with GLIL. This marks the
acquisition of a 247MW portfolio of UK solar assets from
Lightsource bp (the 'Lightsource
bp Portfolio'). GLIL is a
partnership of UK pension funds currently with a £3 billion
portfolio of core UK infrastructure assets. GLIL's member funds
include Local Pensions Partnership Investments, Greater Manchester
Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension Fund, West Yorkshire Pension Fund
and Nest.
As previously announced, the
Lightsource bp Portfolio is predominantly diversified across
southern and central England and comprises 58 operating sites:
184MW backed by Feed in Tariff ('FiT') subsidies, 15MW by Renewable
Obligation Certificates ('ROCs') and two subsidy-free projects
totalling 48MW. Through the period 2023 to 2035 the
proportion of fixed and regulated revenues from the portfolio is
projected to be approximately 80%. The acquisition raises the
level of regulated revenues in the Bluefield Solar portfolio,
whilst also increasing the proportion of FiT income.
Bluefield Solar is investing £20
million, or 9% of the equity, with GLIL investing the balance.
The Company will fund the acquisition using earnings which
arose in the financial year ended 30 June 2023, after the payment
of dividends, debt amortisation and the Electricity Generator Levy
('EGL'). In addition,
Bluefield Solar has used £10 million of earnings to pay down a
portion of the Company's revolving credit facility
('RCF').
Total retained earnings prior to this announcement were
approximately £60 million. Following the Lightsource bp
Portfolio acquisition and the partial repayment of the RCF, the
Company's UK holding companies' RCF balance will stand at £167
million, with long term amortising debt being £430 million.
Overall, the Company's UK holding companies and its
subsidiaries have total outstanding debt of £597 million, with a
leverage level of circa 41% of Gross Asset Value (broadly unchanged
from 30 June 2023).
The Company continues to progress
phase two of the Strategic
Partnership, where GLIL has provisionally agreed to acquire a 50%
stake in a portfolio of more than 100MW of operational UK solar
assets currently owned by the Company (the 'Bluefield Portfolio'). The provisional
acquisition price is in line with the Company's current valuation.
The Strategic Partnership intends to reach financial close in
the first half of 2024. The sale of a stake in the Bluefield
Portfolio, as described, will provide Bluefield Solar with
additional liquidity, the proceeds of which provide the opportunity
to continue to pay down the drawn RCF. This phase is expected to
complete in early 2024.
As announced on 22 December 2023, in
phase three, Bluefield
Solar and GLIL intend via the Strategic Partnership to commit
capital in a selection of the Company's development pipeline,
assuming market conditions are supportive. The identified
development assets are expected to be grid connected over the next
two to three years.
- Ends
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About Bluefield Solar
Bluefield Solar is a London listed income fund
focused primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets.
Not less than 75% of the Company's gross assets will be
invested into UK solar assets. The Company can also invest up
to 25% of its gross assets into other technologies, such as wind
and storage. Bluefield Solar owns and operates a UK portfolio of
834MW, comprising 776MW of solar and 58MW of onshore
wind.
Further information can be viewed
at www.bluefieldsif.com
About Bluefield Partners
Bluefield Partners LLP was
established in 2009 and is an investment adviser to companies and
funds investing in renewable energy infrastructure. It has a
proven record in the selection, acquisition and supervision of
large-scale energy assets in the UK and Europe. The team has
been involved in over £6.5 billion renewable funds and/or
transactions in both the UK and Europe, including over £1 billion
in the UK since December 2011.
About GLIL Infrastructure
GLIL is a partnership of UK pension
funds which invests in Britain's future - creating jobs, supporting
communities and helping to power the economy. It is a proven
investor, with a fund specially designed to help pension fund
members tap into the stable, inflation-linked returns that
infrastructure investment offers. GLIL manages £3.6 billion of
committed capital, with more than £3.0 billion deployed into a
growing portfolio of infrastructure assets spanning renewable
energy, energy storage, utilities ports, trains, hospitals and
schools. It invests on behalf of Local Government Pension Scheme DB
funds and pools including Local Pensions Partnership Investments,
Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension Fund, West
Yorkshire Pension Fund, as well as Nest, the government-established
Defined Contribution workplace pension provider. For more
information on GLIL, including its history, executive committee and
investment portfolio, please visit
www.glil.co.uk.
About Lightsource bp
Lightsource bp is a global leader in the
development and management of solar energy projects. Most recently,
bp has announced the intention to fully acquire Lightsource bp. It
is currently operated as a 50:50 joint venture with bp. Our purpose
is to deliver affordable and sustainable solar power for businesses
and communities around the world. For more information on
Lightsource bp, please visit www.lightsourcebp.com.