Extension to Revolving Credit Facility

RNS Number : 2720R

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

05 July 2022

 

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

5 July 2022

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

Extension to Revolving Credit Facility

NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist renewable energy investment company, is pleased to announce it has signed a two-year extension to its existing £70m Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") with Santander UK.

The revised facility has been agreed on attractive terms with a margin of 160bps over SONIA ("Sterling Overnight Index Average"), including an uncommitted option to extend the facility term for an additional twelve months if required.

The extended facility provides cost-efficient funding with flexibility on drawdowns and repayments.  As of 1 July 2022, the Company had £48m available for immediate drawdown from its RCF's (excluding the £25m accordion), to progress solar and battery storage assets, and the remaining NextPower III ESG commitment.

Provider	Short term credit facilities (RCF)	Drawn down	Expiry
Santander UK	£70m	£22m	July 2024 (excluding 12-month extension)
AIB & NatWest	£75m (+£25m accordion)	£75m	June 2024
Total		£97m
Available RCF		£48m

Drawn short term credit facilities currently constitute £97m of the Company's £483m total debt capital structure.  Gearing levels remain conservative at 42% of the Company's Gross Asset Value, which as of the 31 March 2022 was £1.15bn.

Ross Grier, UK Managing Director of NextEnergy Capital, commented:

"The £70m RCF extension builds on our successful relationship with Santander and provides NESF with the continued firepower to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities we are pursuing.  The facility was secured on attractive terms, given the backdrop of inflation and rising interest rates." 

Mark Cumbo, Director, Specialised and Project Finance at Santander UK said:

 "We are delighted to support NextEnergy Solar Fund with this latest funding package.  Santander UK strongly supports clients such as NextEnergy Solar Fund that are bringing positive environmental change to the UK's energy sector."

For further information:

NextEnergy Capital Group	020 3746 0700
Michael Bonte-Friedheim	[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 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 subsidy-free UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW)

·       A ready-to-build subsidy-free 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 250MW 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 31 March 2022, the Company had a gross asset value of £1,150 million, 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 a net asset value of £668.5 million.

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.

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 325 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.3GW 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 a gross asset value of £1,150m.  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 a 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 was launched in December 2021.  The UK Infrastructure Bank is providing financing to the initial seed   assets of the fund, and plans to invest up to £250m, half of the fund's total target fund size, 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 at 31 March 2022, being the latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

 

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