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21 February 2020
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
PAYMENT FRAUD UPDATE
The Board of US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) and New Energy Solar Manager (the Investment Manager) are continuing the recovery process associated with the payment fraud announced on 30 January 2020 (the Fraud).
The Board continues to work with the Investment Manager and relevant stakeholders to ensure the Company is made whole, by recovering the remaining funds or otherwise.
As is normal in such circumstances, the recovery process itself is not expected to be complete for some months. In any event, based on information received to date, the Board does not expect the Company's next published (or any subsequent) Net Asset Value estimate to be impacted by the Fraud.
The proposed review, by a global accounting firm and at the Investment Manager's cost, of the Investment Manager's relevant financial processes and controls is now underway. The review is expected to be complete in March 2020, at which point the Investment Manager expects to suggest enhancements to its financial processes and controls to the Board for their consideration. Interim enhanced processes and controls have been put in place in the meantime.
US Solar Fund's Audit Committee Chair met with the global accounting firm in New York to discuss the engagement prior to it commencing.
There continues to be no impact to the relevant construction schedules or budgets.
USF will provide further updates in due course.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund Whitney Voûte |
+1 718 230 4329 |
Cenkos Securities plc Will Rogers Rob Naylor Will Talkington |
+44 20 7397 8900 |
KL Communications |
+44 20 3995 6673 |
Charles Gorman Charlotte Stickings |
|
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful US$200m IPO. The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the Americas.
The Company will acquire or construct, own and operate solar power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs).
Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund which has committed over US$900m to US and Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by Walsh & Company, the funds management division of Evans Dixon, an ASX-listed company (ASX: ED1) with over A$20 billion of funds under advice and management.
