REG - NextEnergy Solar Fnd - Extension to Revolving Credit Facility

NextEnergy Solar FundAnnouncement

05/07/2022 07:00

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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                    ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
 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 Editors(1):

 

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
(http://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/ (http://www.nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/) )
& NEC Group website

(nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/
(https://www.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 (http://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 (http://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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