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Foresight Solar Fund has completed the £245 million debt refinancing of a 321MW UK solar portfolio consisting of 28 assets.
The new financing comprises a £170 million term loan facility, jointly provided by German bank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale and Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, a £65 million revolving credit facility (RCF) provided by NatWest and a £10 million debt service reserve facility.
The £170 million loan facility will expire in March 2036, with proceeds to be partially used to refinance the asset-level debt facilities expiring in September 2019.
The £65 million RCF has a three-year term, replacing an existing £65 million RCF that was entered into in 2017.
Approached by Solar Power Portal, a spokesperson from Foresight explained the 28 plants in question are already up and running.
Foresight Solar’s outstanding debt after this transaction comes in at £511.3 million, representing around 46% of Gross Asset Value of the company and its subsidiaries.
Alex Ohlsson, chairman of Foresight Solar Fund, said the refinancing of the RCF removes “any short-term refinancing risk” across the company’s portfolio and allows it to adopt “a more flexible approach to new investment opportunities”.
“This refinancing delivers significant value for Foresight Solar Fund as a result of a reduction in the annual cost of the new cross-collateralised term loan facility against the previous asset level facilities," Ohisson added.