Bluefield Solar Income Fund announces revolving facility

Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited (BSIF) announced last week that it has agreed a revolving acquisition facility withRoyal Bank of Scotland plc.

The three-year facility, for up to £50 million (US$84.8 million), including a working capital element, will provide BSIF with a flexible source of funding to make additional acquisitions of solar energy assets in the UK.

The facility is secured against the existing BSIF assets and the margin over LIBOR is 225bps with the maximum ratio of loan to net assets being 35%.

BSIF is a Guernsey-registered investment company focusing on large scale agricultural and industrial solar assets. It raised gross proceeds of £130 million (US$220.6 million) in July 2013 through an initial public offering (IPO) of shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The fund raised a further £13 million in February, 2014 in an oversubscribed placement.

BSIF seeks to provide shareholders with an attractive return, principally in the form of semi-annual income distributions, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy assets, each located within the UK, with a focus on utility scale assets and portfolios on greenfield, industrial and/or commercial sites.

Bluefield Partners LLP was established in 2009 as a specialist investor into solar energy. Bluefield's team has a proven track record in the selection, acquisition and management of large scale energy and infrastructure assets in the UK and Europe.