Lightsource has announced refinancing of £284m of its portfolio of UK solar projects.
The 101MW tranche of 33 UK-based solar projects receive 20-25 year fixed income tariffs under the UK government’s subsidy system.
The refinancing was completed with the Royal Bank of Scotland as Lightsource’s financial partner and takes the amount of project finance debt raised by Lighthouse in 2015 to £1.1bn.
The £284m refinancing represents the first ever sterling, benchmark-size solar bond and the largest sterling renewables bond.
The deal saw M&G Investments provide £247 million of 22-year inflation linked finance with AMP Capital providing a £37 million 8-year mezzanine facility.
Lightsource finance director Paul McCartie said: “We are delighted to have closed this deal which represents a significant milestone for Lightsource. We would like to thank M&G and AMP Capital for their continued support on the transaction and hope that we can maintain those partnerships with future deals in the pipeline.”
M&G Investments head of finance John Mayhew said: “Consolidation within the solar sector is providing investable opportunities for institutional clients. We have structured the deal to deliver inflation-linked returns, with good security to ensure risks are appropriately rewarded.”
Image: Lightsource solar scheme (Lightsource)
