7 December 2016
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited
(the "Company")
Five Acquisitions
The Company's Board is pleased to announce that it has entered into binding sale and purchase agreements to acquire five new build sub-5 megawatt peak ("MWp") ground-mounted solar photovoltaic ("PV") plants. The projects are being acquired for a total consideration of £22.7 million, including transaction costs and working capital. Each plant is expected to become operational before 31 March 2017 and to qualify under the 1.2 Renewable Obligation Certificate ("ROC") regime.
Three of the projects, located in Essex, Leicestershire and South Wales, are being constructed by Parabel UK Limited (the "BD Fund Projects"), who were the contractors for the Company's Ashlawn and North Beer projects.
The two remaining projects are located in Staffordshire and Northamptonshire and are being constructed by Solar Century Holding Limited ("Solar Century"). The successful acquisition of the projects will bring the total of the Company's projects constructed by Solar Century to seventeen, with a total capacity of c.166 MWp.
The acquisitions have been fully funded through the placing of new Ordinary Shares announced 20 October 2016, which raised gross proceeds of approximately £60.6 million.
The three BD Fund Projects were developed by the Bluefield Energy Solar Development Fund (the "BD Fund") and offered to the Company pursuant to a pipeline agreement between Bluefield Partners LLP (the "Investment Adviser"), Thompson Taraz Collectives Limited (the independent investment adviser to the BD Fund) and BE Renewables Limited (the "Pipeline Agreement") as described in the Company's prospectus, dated 26 October 2015. Under the Pipeline Agreement the Investment Adviser has granted a right of first refusal to the Company in respect of any projects developed by the BD Fund that are within the Company's investment policy, subject to certain criteria.
Comment
John Rennocks, the Company's Chairman, stated, "Following the placing announced in October, which exceeded our target raise of £50 million, we are capitalising on the forthcoming closure of the RO scheme set for March 2017 by executing the Company's primary investment strategy of investing in construction projects. The Company is committed to maintaining its strong pricing and return disciplines by preferring growth in primary markets rather than in the secondary markets, where returns are lower as increasing competition squeezes prices in a finite pool of assets."
Enquiries:
James Armstrong / Mike Rand / Giovanni Terranova
Bluefield Partners LLP - Company Investment Adviser
Tel: +44 (0)20 7078 0020
Tod Davis / David Benda
Numis Securities Limited - Company Broker
Tel: +44 (0)20 7260 1000
Kevin Smith
Heritage International Fund Managers Limited - Company Secretary & Administrator
Tel: +44 (0)1481716000
Tom Karim
CNC
Tel: +44(0)20 3219 8820 / +44(0)7923 293 399
Note to editors
About Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited
The Company is a Guernsey-registered investment company focusing on large scale agricultural and industrial solar assets. It had an initial public offering of shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in July 2013. The Company currently has over 369 million shares in issue.
The Company seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive return, principally in the form of income distributions, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy assets, each located within the UK, with a focus on utility scale assets and portfolios on greenfield, industrial and/or commercial sites. The Company intends to pay quarterly distributions.
About Bluefield Partners LLP (Bluefield)
Bluefield was established in 2009 and is an investment adviser to companies and funds investing in solar energy infrastructure. It has a proven record in the selection, acquisition and supervision of large scale energy and infrastructure assets in the UK and Europe. The team has been involved in over £1.25 billion of solar PV funds and/or transactions in both the UK and Europe since 2008, including over £500m in the UK since December 2011.
Bluefield has led the acquisitions of over 70 UK based solar PV assets that are agriculturally, commercially or industrially situated. Based in its London office, Bluefield's partners are supported by a dedicated and highly experienced team of investment, legal and portfolio executives. Bluefield Services Limited, based in Bristol, is the asset manager for the Company's portfolio.
Bluefield was appointed Investment Adviser to the Company in June 2013.
