Foresight has continued its large scale purchasing in 2017 with the acquisition of the 49.6MW Sandridge solar farm, its second largest to date.
The development in Wiltshire was connected to the National Grid in March 2016, receiving 1.3 ROCs since then. In addition to 100% of the site, Foresight has acquired all of the project cash flows since 1 January 2017.
The purchase was primarily funded via a new £55m revolving credit facility, announced 23 February 2017, provided by Santander Global Corporate Banking. This will be repaid through equity issuance in 2017 however the facility provides additional financial flexibility for future growth opportunities.
The Sandridge Farm is the second site to be added to the Foresight solar portfolio in 2017 following the acquisition of the UK’s largest solar farm, the 72MWp Shotwick Solar Park, earlier this month.
Alex Ohlsson, chairman of Foresight, said: “The Company's latest acquisition, its second this month, demonstrates the strong pipeline of assets that the investment manager has identified in recent months.
“The purchase of Sandridge is in line with the company's cautious growth strategy, minimising the impact of cash drag for investors. The new credit facility was secured at attractive terms and will allow the Company to remain competitive when targeting pipeline opportunities during the course of 2017."
Foresight has identified a further pipeline of operational solar assets with a combined installed capacity of approximately 100 MW.
This would add to the company’s current portfolio of 18 assets totalling an installed peak capacity of approximately 470 MW, representing an average capacity of 26 MW per asset.