REG - Bluefield Solar Inc. - Completion of circa £300 million refinancing

Bluefield Solar Income FundAnnouncement

24/02/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 0983Y  Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited  24 February 2025

24 February 2025

 

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited

('Bluefield Solar' or the 'Company')

 

Completion of circa £300 million refinancing

 

Bluefield Solar (LON: BSIF), the London listed UK income fund focused
primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets, is pleased to
announce the completion of a refinancing as part of its management of the
359MW portfolio of solar PV assets it jointly owns with GLIL Infrastructure
('GLIL').

 

The refinancing was completed in January 2025 with a consortium of lenders and
replaces c.£214 million of existing inflation-linked debt on the solar PV
portfolio, with c. £297 million of fixed-rate debt at an all-in rate of 5.8%.
This results in the all-in cost of debt across the Company increasing modestly
to c. 3.8% (up from 3.4% in September 2024). The new debt matures in December
2035, in line with the subsidy period of the assets.

 

The portfolio, which is jointly owned by Bluefield Solar and GLIL, with the
Company having a stake of just over 25% and GLIL owning the balance, comprises
69 solar PV projects, 183MW of which is backed by Feed in Tariff ('FiT')
subsidies, 128MW by Renewable Obligation Certificates ('ROCs') and 48MW on a
merchant basis.

 

The transaction raises c. £21 million for the Company and, taken together
with the successful sale of 112MW of solar capacity as part of the strategic
partnership with GLIL which completed in September 2024, results in c. £89
million of recycled capital being returned to the Company since the
commencement of its partnership with GLIL in January 2024.

 

To date, £50.5 million of the proceeds received from the sale of 112MW of
assets has been used to repay a portion of the Company's Revolving Credit
Facility ('RCF'), with c. £10.6 million used to support the Company's share
buyback programme, c. £6.2 million invested into the  construction of
Mauxhall and the development pipeline, with a further c. £1.5 million
invested in CapEx works on the Company's operating portfolio.

 

This leaves a balance of some £40 million (including carried forward reserves
of £20.3 million from FY2024) available for continuing RCF repayments,
supporting progression of the Company's pipeline of development assets or
enabling future share buyback programmes following completion of the Company's
original £20 million allocation in January 2025.

 

Phase Three of the strategic partnership with GLIL, which involves the
prospective sale by Bluefield Solar of a limited portion of its ready-to-build
pipeline, is currently in progress.

 

Following the re-financing, the Company's total debt outstanding is £588
million, of which the RCF balance stands at £133.5 million. The Company's
leverage remains at c. 44% of Gross Asset Value, based on the Company's latest
reported unaudited NAV as at September 2024.

 

The Company's Interim Results will be released on Thursday 27 February.

 

John Scott, Chairman of Bluefield Solar, said: "We have worked closely with
GLIL and our lenders to complete this refinancing at an attractive price,
enabling further capital to be returned to the Company to support future RCF
repayments and allowing the continued funding of the Company's highly
attractive development pipeline."

 

- Ends -

 

 For further information:

 Bluefield Partners LLP (Company Investment Adviser)   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7078 0020
 James Armstrong / Neil Wood / Giovanni Terranova      www.bluefieldllp.com (http://www.bluefieldllp.com/)

 Deutsche Numis (Company Broker)                       Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000
 Tod Davis / David Benda / Matt Goss                   www.dbnumis.com (http://www.numis.com/)

 Ocorian

(Company Secretary & Administrator)

 Chezi Hanford                                         Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742

                                                     www.ocorian.com (http://www.ocorian.com/)

 Bluefield Solar Board

                                                     Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742
 To be contacted via Ocorian                           bluefieldteam@ocorian.com (mailto:bluefieldteam@ocorian.com)

 Media enquiries:                                      Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

Burson Buchanan (PR Adviser)                         www.bursonbuchanan.com (http://www.bursonbuchanan.com)
 Henry Harrison-Topham / Henry Wilson

                                                     BSIF@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:BSIF@buchanan.uk.com)

 

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 883MW, comprising 824.7MW
of solar and 58.3MW of onshore wind.

 

Further information can be viewed at www.bluefieldsif.com
(http://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 £6.7
billion renewable funds and/or transactions in both the UK and Europe,
including over £1.6 billion in the UK since December 2011.

 

Bluefield Partners LLP has led the acquisitions of, and currently advises on,
over 100 UK based solar photovoltaic assets that are agriculturally,
commercially or industrially situated.  Based in its London office, it is
supported by a dedicated and experienced team of investment, legal and
portfolio executives.  Bluefield Partners LLP was appointed Investment
Adviser to Bluefield Solar in June 2013.

 

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 £4.1 billion of committed capital, with more than £3.0
billion deployed into a growing portfolio of UK core infrastructure assets
spanning renewable energy, water and ports, trains, hospitals and schools. It
invests on behalf of pension funds and pools including Local Pensions
Partnership Investments, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension
Fund, West Yorkshire Pension Fund and Nest, the government-established DC
workplace pension provider. For more information on GLIL, including its
history and investment portfolio, please visit www.glil.co.uk
(https://url.jer.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/Nq5cCJqx6pTPND08tGhGTywFll?domain=urldefense.com)

 

 

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