Last checked at 
25 Jan 2024 07:00
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 -
For further information:
Bluefield Partners LLP (Company Investment Adviser) James Armstrong / Neil Wood / Giovanni Terranova
|
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7078 0020 www.bluefieldllp.com | ||
| |||
Deutsche Numis (Company Broker) Tod Davis / David Benda / Matt Goss
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 www.dbnumis.com | ||
| |||
Ocorian(Company Secretary & Administrator) Chezi Hanford
| Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742 www.ocorian.com | ||
| |||
Media enquiries:Buchanan (PR Adviser) Henry Harrison-Topham / Henry Wilson
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 www.buchanan.uk.com BSIF@buchanan.uk.com | ||
GLIL Infrastructure Citypress |
www.citypress.co.uk |
| |
Justin Moll | glil@citypress.co.uk |
| |
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.