UNITED KINGDOM: Bluefield-GLIL eye GBP 300m debt raise for UK solar portfolio

Bluefield Solar Income Fund and GLIL Infrastructure are working on the financing of an operational circa 380 MW UK solar PV portfolio.

The two partners launched the transaction in late May with the issuance of an IM to the lending market and are believed to have taken responses to the deal in recent days, while financial close is targeted before the end of the summer.

Bluefield and GLIL are understood to be looking to raise in the region of GBP 300m in circa 15-year debt, with the underlying 60-plus portfolio of projects backed by a mix of feed-in tariffs, ROCs and PPAs.

Senior debt is expected to price on average at around 150 bps plus Sonia.

The financing move comes after GLIL and Bluefield at the end of 2023 announced the formation of a strategic partnership through which the former agreed to invest GBP 200m in a 247MW portfolio of operational solar energy assets being acquired by the latter from Lightsource bp.

As part of the tie-up announced last year, GLIL said it also planned to acquire a 50% stake in a separate 100 MW portfolio of operating assets, and to also invest in Bluefield Solar’s development pipeline.

Cantor Fitzgerald (financial) is advising the sponsors on the deal.

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