£60m Increase to Revolving Credit Facility

RNS Number : 2479B

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

30 September 2022

 

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

30 September 2022

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

£60m Increase to Revolving Credit Facility

NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist solar and energy storage climate impact fund with a combined installed power capacity of 865MW, is pleased to announce that it has increased the commitments available under its Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") with AIB Group (UK) p.l.c. ("AIB") & NatWest from £75m to £135m.  The additional commitments have been agreed on attractive terms with a margin of 120bps over SONIA ("Sterling Overnight Index Average"), available until June 2024.

The extended facility provides cost-efficient funding with flexibility on drawdowns and repayments and increases total RCF capacity to £205m.  As of 29 September 2022, the Company had £89.5m available for drawdown from all its RCFs to progress its immediate pipeline of solar farms and battery storage assets.

Provider	Short term credit facilities (RCF)	Drawn down	Expiry
Santander UK	£70m	£40.5m	July 2024 (excluding 12-month extension)
AIB & NatWest	£135m	£75m	June 2024
Total	£205m	£115.5m

The Company has drawn £115.5m from its £205m short term credit facilities.  Gearing levels remain conservative at 41% (including preference shares and financial debt facilities) of the Company's Gross Asset Value, which as of the 30 June 2022 was £1,198m.

Ross Grier, UK Managing Director of NextEnergy Capital commented:

"The £60m increase in the AIB and NatWest revolving credit facility provides the Company with sufficient headroom to secure solar and battery storage optionality within the immediate pipeline.  We have also secured attractive terms considering the current macro environment."

For further information: NextEnergy Capital Group Michael Bonte-Friedheim	020 3746 0700 [e-mail]
Aldo Beolchini
Ross Grier
Peter Hamid (Investor Relations)
RBC Capital Markets	020 7653 4000
Matthew Coakes
Kathryn Deegan
Cenkos Securities	020 7397 8900
James King
William Talkington
Camarco	020 3781 8334
Owen Roberts
Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited	014 8174 2642
Kevin Smith

Notes to Editors¹:

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NESF is a specialist solar and energy storage climate impact fund.  The Company is structured as a renewable energy investment company listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange that invests in utility-scale solar power plants and energy storage.  The Company may invest up to 30% of its gross asset value in non-UK OECD countries, 15% in solar-focused private infrastructure funds, and 10% in energy storage.

NESF currently has a diversified portfolio comprising of the following:

Solar PV:

●	100 operating solar assets across the UK and Italy (primarily on agricultural, industrial, and commercial sites)
●	A 50MW co-investment into a Spanish solar project alongside NextPower III ESG, currently under construction
●	A 210MW co-investment into a Portuguese solar project alongside NextPower III ESG, currently under construction
●	A UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW)
●	A ready-to-build UK solar project (Hatherden 50MW)
●	A $50m commitment into NextPower III ESG (a private solar infrastructure fund providing exposure to both operating and under construction, international solar assets)

Energy Storage:

●	A 50MW standalone battery storage project in Fife, Scotland, currently under construction (part of a 500/£300m joint venture with Eelpower)
●	A 6MW co-located battery storage project at North Norfolk Solar Farm

The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of 865MW (excluding NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through basis).

As at 30 June 2022, the Company had an unaudited gross asset value of £1,198m, being the aggregate of the net asset value of the ordinary shares, the fair value of the preference shares and the amount of NESF Group debt outstanding, and an unaudited net asset value of £717.2m.

NESF's investment objective is to provide ordinary shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns, principally in the form of regular dividends, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets.  The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

For further information on NESF please visit www. nextenergysolarfund.com

Commitment to ESG

NESF is committed to ESG principles and responsible investment which make a meaningful contribution to reducing CO2 emissions through the generation of clean solar power.  NESF will only select investments that meet the requirements of NEC Group's Sustainable Investment Policy.  Based on this policy, NESF benefits from NEC's rigorous ESG due diligence on each investment.  NESF is committed to reporting on its ESG performance in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework and the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

NESF has been awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark and has been designated a Guernsey Green Fund by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

Article 9

NESF is classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and EU Taxonomy Regulation.

NESF's sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 can be accessed on the ESG section of both the NESF website ( nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/ ) & NEC Group website ( nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/ ).

About NextEnergy Group

NESF is managed by NextEnergy Capital, part of the NextEnergy Group.  NextEnergy Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in the international solar sector.  Since its inception, it has been active in the development, construction, and ownership of solar assets across multiple jurisdictions.  NextEnergy Group operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital (Investment Management), WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management) and Starlight (Asset Development).

NextEnergy Capital

NextEnergy Capital comprises the Group's investment management activities.  To date, NEC has invested in over 350 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.4GW across it institutional funds.  www.nextenergycapital.com

●	NextEnergy Solar Fund ("NESF") is a solar infrastructure investment company focused on the UK and other OECD countries, which is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange.  It currently owns 865MW spread among 100 individual operating assets in the UK and Italy, comprising an unaudited gross asset value of £1,198m.  NESF is one of the largest listed solar energy investment companies in the world.
●	NextPower II ("NPII") a private fund made up of 105 individual operating solar power plants and an installed capacity of 149MW, focused on consolidating the substantial, highly fragmented Italian solar market.  NPII was successfully divested in January 2022, a 2016 vintage vehicle that generated net IRRs in excess of its gross target of 10-12%.
●	NextPower III ESG ("NPIII") is a private fund exclusively focused on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting projects in carefully selected OECD countries, including the US, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Poland and Italy.  NPIII is a fund that provides a positive social and environmental impact to the countries it has and will invest into.  NPIII completed its fundraise with a total of $896m, including an SMA raised.  The target of the fund was $750m.
●	NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK") is a private unlevered fund investing in greenfield subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA's, in the UK.  NPUK ESG recently announced its first close at £327 million, which is over 65% of the funds target of £500 million.  The UK Infrastructure Bank is the cornerstone investor for the fund and plans to invest up to £250 million on a match funding basis.

WiseEnergy

WiseEnergy® is NextEnergy Capital Group's operating asset manager.  WiseEnergy is a leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector.  Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management, monitoring and technical due diligence services to over 1,400 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 1.8GW.  WiseEnergy clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector. 

www.wise-energy.com

Starlight

Starlight is NextEnergy Group's development company that is active in the development phase of solar projects.  It has developed over 100 utility-scale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.5GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

Notes:

^1: All financial data is unaudited at 30 June 2022, being the latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

 

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