LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447
21 November 2024
NextEnergy Solar Fund
Limited
("NESF"
or the "Company")
Phase III of Capital
Recycling Programme
NextEnergy Solar Fund, a leading
specialist investor in solar energy and energy storage, is pleased
to announce the completion of Phase III of its Capital Recycling
Programme (the "Programme") with the successful sale of Staughton,
a 50MW operational solar asset.
Phase III of the
Programme:
· Staughton,
located in Bedfordshire, UK, is a 50MW subsidy-free utility-scale
solar asset developed as part of the
Company's self-developed project pipeline and energised in
2019.
·
The sale of Staughton raised £30.3m (the "Transaction").
· The
Transaction represents an attractive 21.5% premium to the holding value as
at 30 September 2024 (1.38x
Multiple on Invested Capital).
· The Transaction is
Net Asset Value ("NAV") accretive to NESF ordinary shareholders and
will generate an estimated uplift of 0.92p per ordinary share which will be
reflected in the Company's NAV as at 31 December 2024.
Use of proceeds:
· Proceeds from
the Transaction will be used to reduce the Company's drawn
short-term debt via its Revolving Credit Facilities.
The purchaser:
· The purchaser,
NextPower UK ESG Fund, is a 10-year closed-ended private fund
managed by NextEnergy Capital.
· The
Transaction is not deemed a related party transaction under the
FCA's UK Listing Rules. However, in line with best practice
governance, Deloitte were appointed to undertake an independent
valuation on NESF's behalf.
Capital Recycling Programme
progress:
·
As at 21 November 2024 the Capital Recycling
Programme has delivered:
o Three asset sales totalling c.145MW of capacity from the 245MW
Programme.
o Raised £72.5m total
capital.
o Added a total estimated Net Asset Value uplift of 2.76p per ordinary share.
· The remaining
100MW in the Programme continues to progress through a competitive
sales process to third-party buyers. The Company will publish
further updates about Phase IV of the Programme in due
course.
|
Status
|
Subsidy-free solar asset
|
Installed Capacity
|
Type
|
Price
|
NAV uplift
|
Premium
|
IRR
|
|
Sold in
Phase I
|
Hatherden
|
60MW
|
Ready-to-build
|
£15.2m
|
1.27p
|
100%
|
57%
|
|
Sold in
Phase II
|
Whitecross
|
35MW
|
Operational
|
£27.0m
|
0.57p
|
14%
|
14%
|
|
Sold in
Phase III
|
Staughton
|
50MW
|
Operational
|
£30.3m
|
0.92p
|
21.5%
|
7.4%
|
|
Third-party competitive sales process
Phase
IV
|
The
Grange
|
50MW
|
Operational
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
|
Third-party competitive sales process
Phase
IV
|
South
Lowfield
|
50MW
|
Operational
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Helen Mahy, Chairwoman of NextEnergy
Solar Fund Limited, commented:
"The Board is pleased to report the
successful completion of Phase III of NESF's Capital Recycling
Programme through the sale of Staughton, a 50MW subsidy-free solar
asset. This sale was achieved at a 21.5% premium to its
holding value through a competitive sales process and represents
the largest transaction in the Programme to date, raising £30.3m in
proceeds, which is an excellent result for
shareholders."
"The Capital Recycling Programme has
successfully sold c.145MW of solar assets and the Board remains
confident that this transaction alongside progress in Phase IV of
the Programme will further strengthen the Company as it continues
to deliver on its track record of providing long-term stable
returns and value to shareholders."
Stephen Rosser, Investment Director
& UK Counsel, said:
"Phase III of the Capital Recycling
Programme has delivered an attractive premium and return for NESF
shareholders. To date, the NextEnergy Capital team has raised
£72.5m worth of proceeds from the Programme which has been used to
reduce NESF's gearing and implement a Share Buyback Programme of up
to £20m. The team remains focused on the continued progress
of the remaining Phase of the Capital Recycling Programme, ensuring
we drive value for shareholders whilst effectively managing the
Company's capital allocation strategy and delivering on NESF's
strategic initiatives."
|
For further information:
NextEnergy Capital
Michael Bonte-Friedheim
|
020 3746 0700
ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
|
|
Ross Grier
|
|
|
Stephen Rosser
|
|
|
Peter Hamid (Investor
Relations)
|
|
|
RBC Capital Markets
|
020 7653 4000
|
|
Matthew Coakes
|
|
|
Kathryn Deegan
|
|
|
Cavendish
|
020 7397 1909
|
|
James King
|
|
|
|
|
|
H/Advisors Maitland
|
020 7379 5151
|
|
Neil Bennett
|
|
|
Finlay Donaldson
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey)
Limited
|
01481 742642
|
|
Kevin Smith
|
|
Notes to
Editors1:
About NextEnergy Solar
Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is a
specialist solar energy and energy storage investment company that
is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange.
NextEnergy Solar Fund's investment
objective is to provide ordinary shareholders with attractive
risk-adjusted returns, principally in the form of regular
dividends, by investing in a diversified portfolio of utility-scale
solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets. The
majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK
government subsidies.
As at 30 September 2024, the Company
had an unaudited gross asset value of £1,104m. For further
information please visit www.nextenergysolarfund.com
Article 9 Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is classified
under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
and EU Taxonomy Regulation. NextEnergy Solar Fund's
sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector
are in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and can be
accessed on the ESG section of both the NextEnergy Solar Fund and
NextEnergy Capital websites.
About NextEnergy Group
NextEnergy Solar Fund is managed by
NextEnergy Capital, part of the NextEnergy Group. NextEnergy
Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in
the international solar sector. Since its inception, it has
been active in the development, construction, and ownership of
solar assets across multiple jurisdictions. NextEnergy Group
operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital
(Investment Management), WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management),
and Starlight (Asset Development).
· NextEnergy
Capital: has over 17 years of
specialist solar expertise having invested in over 460 individual
solar plants across the world. NextEnergy Capital currently
manages four institutional funds with a total capacity in excess of
3GW+ and has assets under management of $4.3bn.
More information is available at
www.nextenergycapital.com
· WiseEnergy®:
is a leading specialist operating asset manager in
the solar sector. Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided
solar asset management, monitoring and technical due diligence
services to over 1,500 utility-scale solar power plants with an
installed capacity in excess of 2.5GW. More information is available at www.wise-energy.com
· Starlight:
has developed over
100 utility-scale projects internationally
and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.10GW of both green
and brownfield project developments across global
geographies. More information is available at www.starlight-energy.com
Notes:
1: All financial data is
unaudited at 30 September 2024, being the latest date in respect of
which NextEnergy Solar Fund has published financial
information