£20 Million Share Buyback Programme

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

18 June 2024

 

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

18 June 2024

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

£20 Million Share Buyback Programme

The Board of NextEnergy Solar Fund, a leading specialist investor in solar energy and energy storage, is pleased to announce that it has approved an initial share buyback programme (the "Programme") of up to £20 million.

The Board believes that the Company's current level of discount to its Net Asset Value ("NAV") is unjustified.  Based on the historical and projected financial and operational performance of the Company's diversified high-quality solar plant portfolio and the recent data points from the Company's asset sales, the valuation of the Company's underlying NAV remains robust. The Board continues to maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation and considers the Programme to be in the best interest and value to its shareholders at this point in time.

The Board will continue to review the Company's discount to NAV alongside the Company's level of gearing and maintain full discretion and flexibility over future increases to the size of the Programme.

The Programme will be carried out under the existing shareholder authorisation granted at the last Annual General Meeting for purchases of Ordinary Shares by the Company in the market for up to 14.99% of the Company's issued capital.  The Programme will be conducted within certain pre-set parameters including those prescribed by the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014 (as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended)) and Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules. 

Helen Mahy, Chairwoman of NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited, commented:     

"NextEnergy Solar Fund continues to maintain a strong financial platform in a challenging environment.  After careful consideration and review, the Board of Directors have taken action aimed at narrowing the Company's current share price discount to its Net Asset Value and implemented a Share Buyback Programme.  We are confident that the Programme will strengthen the Company's share price performance and are pleased with the ongoing progress against the Company's strategic objectives, by completing the second phase of its Capital Recycling Programme.  The Board and Investment Adviser view the current size of the Company's discount to NAV as unjustified and this Programme is in the best interests of our shareholders.  The Board remains committed to maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation and continues to prioritise narrowing the discount."

For further information: NextEnergy Capital Michael Bonte-Friedheim	020 3746 0700 [e-mail]
Ross Grier
Stephen Rosser
Peter Hamid (Investor Relations)
RBC Capital Markets	020 7653 4000
Matthew Coakes
Elizabeth Evans Kathryn Deegan
Cavendish	020 7397 1909
James King
William Talkington
H/Advisors Maitland	020 7379 5151
Neil Bennett
Finlay Donaldson
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) Limited	01481 742642
Kevin Smith

Notes to Editors¹:

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NextEnergy Solar Fund is a specialist solar energy and energy storage investment company that is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange.

NextEnergy Solar Fund'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 utility-scale solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets.  The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

As at 31 March 2024, the Company had an unaudited gross asset value of £1,155m.  More information is available at www.nextenergysolarfund.com

Article 9 Fund

NextEnergy Solar Fund is classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and EU Taxonomy Regulation.  NextEnergy Solar Fund's sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector are in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and can be accessed on the ESG section of both the NextEnergy Solar Fund and NextEnergy Capital websites.

About NextEnergy Group

NextEnergy Solar Fund 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: has over 17 years of specialist solar expertise having invested in over 400 individual solar plants across the world.  NextEnergy Capital currently manages four institutional funds with a total capacity in excess of 3GW and has assets under management of $4.3bn.  More information is available at www.nextenergycapital.com   

·    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 1,500 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 2.5GW.  More information is available at www.wise-energy.com

·   Starlight: has developed over 100 utility-scale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.10GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.  More information is available at www.starlight-energy.com

Notes:

^1: All financial data is unaudited at 31 March 2024, being the latest date in respect of which NextEnergy Solar Fund has published financial information

 

END