Octopus expands solar portfolio refinancing

Octopus Investments has expanded the landmark £484 million (US$638.7 million) solar portfolio refinancing it closed earlier this year, further expanding the biggest deal of its kind in the European solar sector.

The new financing has been provided by banks that were already part of the syndicate which currently comprises nine lenders: Banca IMI, Barclays, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), SMBC, AIB, Sabadell and Santander Global Corporate Banking

Linklaters acted a legal advisor, Octopus and Wood Group as technical advisors, PWC helped with tax and counting, Ashurst also provided legal consultancy and Operis acted as model auditor for lenders.

An additional 100 MW of solar assets have been brought into the portfolio with the financing increasing by £80 million taking the total facility size to £564 million. The portfolio now contains 622 MW of solar assets.

Matt Setchell, Head of Energy Investments at Octopus, said:

“Once again the Octopus team has delivered a landmark transaction in the renewable energy sector, pushing the boundaries of our industry by making Europe’s largest solar PV refinancing even bigger. Our asset management team has delivered on expectations with high quality reporting to a group of experienced lenders. They are impressed with the results and followed up just six months after the original deal with more funding.”

Alejandro Ciruelos, Head of Project and Infrastructure Finance at Santander Global Corporate Banking, commented:

“We are delighted to continue supporting Octopus’ strategy in the European renewable energy market. This transaction is a great addition to Octopus’ existing platform and an innovative solution that incorporates unique features that allows them to raise project finance debt in a cost efficient, flexible and timely manner.”