Second Project Acquisition

RNS Number : 1642N

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited

04 September 2013

 



4 September 2013

BLUEFIELD SOLAR INCOME FUND LIMITED

(the "Fund" or "BSIF")

Second Project Acquisition

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding contracts to acquire a large-scale solar plant in Norfolk for total investment consideration of £17 million. The agricultural site located near Hardingham will be one of the largest in the region. The plant, expected to commence electricity generation during December 2013, has been developed, and is being constructed, by Solarcentury, one of the leading specialist UK solar contractors.

Following the sale of the project, under the terms of the contract, Solarcentury will warrant the performance of the plant for an initial period and will undertake the ongoing operation and maintenance of the plant under a separate agreement.

The investment has been made without debt financing and the expected returns on this investment are in line with those anticipated in the Fund's investment objective as set out in its prospectus dated 25 June 2013.

Mike Rand, a managing partner at Bluefield Partners LLP, BSIF's Investment Adviser, said "Bluefield is delighted to announce its decision to allocate funds to this large scale project. The project was selected by Bluefield due to the exceptional track record of Solarcentury as a leader in the UK solar market. The project represents a first step in a growing partnership with the contractor"

Frans van den Heuvel, CEO of Solarcentury commented..."Solarcentury has been one of the leading solar contractors in the UK for a number of years. We are delighted, therefore, with the relationship with BSIF, which has taken a pre-eminent position in the UK solar market by being the first institutionally backed solarfocused fund. We hope this will be first of a number of large scale acquisitions of Solarcentury built plants by BSIF".

Enquiries:

James Armstrong / Mike Rand / Giovanni Terranova

Bluefield Partners LLP - Company Investment Adviser

Tel: [phone]

Tod Davis / David Benda

Numis Securities Limited - Company Broker

Tel: [phone]

Kevin Smith

Heritage International Fund Managers Limited - Company Secretary & Administrator

Tel: [phone]

Note to editors

About Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (the "Fund" or "BSIF")

BSIF is a newly incorporated Guernsey-registered investment fund focusing on large scale agricultural and industrial solar assets. The Fund raised gross proceeds of £130 million in July 2013 through an initial public offering ("IPO") of shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

The Fund seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive return, principally in the form of semi-annual income distributions, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy assets, each located within the UK, with a focus on utility scale assets and portfolios on greenfield, industrial and/or commercial sites.

About Bluefield Partners LLP ("Bluefield")

Bluefield was established in 2009 as a specialist investor into solar energy. Bluefield's team has a proven track record in the selection, acquisition and management of large scale energy and infrastructure assets in the UK and Europe.

 

The managing partners have been involved in over GBP250m of solar photovoltaic ("PV") deals in both the UK and Europe since 2008, including over GBP70m of solar PV transactions in the UK since December 2011.

 

Bluefield was appointed the investment adviser to the Fund in June 2013.

About Solarcentury

Solarcentury is one of the most respected solar companies in the world. Founded in 1998, it has been around since the early days of the solar industry and has been part of the evolution that has made PV the attractive investment it is today. Solarcentury has put solar on a greater variety of sites than any other company in the industry, and has won multiple awards for product innovation.

Solarcentury works directly with its clients to design and install commercial, industrial and utility scale solar. It also supplies its products and services to installers and distributors. All of its customers benefit from its experience in terms of engineering quality, superior yields and sheer breadth of deployment.

Solarcentury is a big believer in helping solar PV change the world for the better and it contributes 5% of its net profits every year to the charity it founded, SolarAid, which aims to eradicate kerosene lamps from Africa by 2020.

Solarcentury has offices in the UK, Italy, The Netherlands and a growing presence in Africa and Latin America.

 

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