The Banking and Finance team from independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised key client Bluefield Solar, the UK income fund focused on acquiring and managing UK-based renewable energy and storage assets to provide growing dividends for its shareholders whilst furthering the decarbonisation of the energy system, on the successful re-financing of its £110 million three-year term loan with NatWest.
The financing is secured against the UK-based portfolio of 15 operational solar photovoltaic (‘PV’) plants with a total installed capacity of 64 megawatt peak (‘MWp’), acquired in August 2020 using the original £110 million term loan, as well as 75 MWp of PV plants acquired by Bluefield prior to 2020 taking the total portfolio to 139 MWp.
The additional debt of £20 million is being used to provide financing for the construction of Yelvertoft, Bluefield’s 48 MWp CfD-backed solar PV project in Northamptonshire, which is Bluefield’s first CfD solar project.
The Burges Salmon team advising Bluefield Solar was led by partner Victoria Allsopp and senior associate Elin Blundell from the firm’s Banking and Finance team. Partner Jonathan Eves, senior associate Bethan Penrhyn-Jones and trainee solicitor Will Penfold from the firm’s Corporate team, along with Energy senior associate Peter Ramsden, also advised on the transaction.
Neil Wood, a partner at Bluefield, says: “We are grateful to the team at Burges Salmon for supporting us on this important transaction, which underpins the construction financing of our first CfD-backed solar PV plant.”
Victoria Allsopp, a partner in the Banking and Finance team at Burges Salmon, adds: “We are delighted that Bluefield has trusted us once again to deliver this significant transaction for them. As always, it was a pleasure to work alongside the Bluefield Solar team on this refinancing.”