Bluefield Solar (BSIF) has bought Bradenstoke Solar Park Limited, a 213-acre operational 70-megawatt peak (MWp) ground-mounted solar photovoltaic plant
The investment is at a cost of £89m, with BSIF receiving cash flows from the plant from 1 April 2020.
‘Accredited under the Renewable Obligation Certificate regime with a tariff of 1.4 ROCs’
Bradenstoke Solar Park is located on a former RAF airbase in Wiltshire, has been operational since March 2015 and is accredited under the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime with a tariff of 1.4 ROCs.
BSIF has financed the deal through its revolving credit facility which, as well as being extended to September 2022 (with an option to extend to September 2023), has also been increased, through an accordion mechanism, (a feature that gives a company the right to increase its line of credit), to £100m. The margin on the facility remains at LIBOR + 2.00%.
Following the transaction, BSIF’s total outstanding debt has increased to £370.4m and the total installed capacity of its portfolio has grown to 612 MWp, to date all of which comprises UK solar assets with high levels of government-backed revenue streams paid in sterling.
Using the company’s 30 September 2020 unaudited NAV of £424.3m as a reference and including the company’s equity raise of £45m in November 2020, the leverage level of the company is circa 44% of gross asset value.
BSIF notes that an updated audited NAV, as of 31 December 2020, will be published when it releases its interim results on 2 March 2021.
BSIF: Bluefield Solar takes installed capacity to 612 MWp with 70 MWp UK solar plant buy