A cross-firm team from Burges Salmon’s Energy sector practice has advised long-standing client Bluefield Solar, a UK-focused income fund that invests primarily in solar assets, on the acquisition and financing of a portfolio of 15 operational solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a total installed capacity of 64.2 megawatt peak (MWp). This has been financed by a new £110 million, three-year re-drawable term loan facility with National Westminster Bank plc (NatWest) structured on a portfolio basis alongside the acquisition.
The ground-mounted solar plants are all located in the UK and bring the total installed capacity of Bluefield Solar’s portfolio to 543 MWp further enhancing Bluefield Solar’s credentials as the owner and operator of one of the UK’s largest, diversified portfolios of solar assets. The acquisition of the portfolio was for an initial cash consideration of £106.6 million including working capital.
The Burges Salmon team, led by partners Jonathan Eves (Corporate) and Graham Soar (Banking) with support from director Victoria Allsopp (Banking) advised the company across all aspects of the acquisition and financing – fielding experts across M&A, banking, real estate, energy regulation, tax and construction.
James Armstrong, Managing Partner of Bluefield Partners, said: “This is an excellent acquisition for Bluefield Solar. It not only combines the addition of a portfolio of high ROC banded assets with bespoke low cost financing, but also enables Bluefield Solar to move its level of gearing in line with the Board’s target. This acquisition will be immediately incremental to earnings and further underpins the Company’s projected results and dividends for the current financial year ending in June 2021 and beyond. We continue to carefully assess a strong pipeline of opportunities across both primary and secondary markets.”
Jonathan says: “It has been a real pleasure working alongside the Bluefield team on its strategic acquisition of 15 operational solar plants. Having started and concluded during the UK lockdown period this transaction demonstrates the continued resilience and strength of this asset class.”