- Bluefield Solar and GLIL Infrastructure completed a £300 million refinancing for their 359MW solar PV portfolio, replacing inflation-linked debt with fixed-rate debt at 5.8%.
- The refinancing raised £21 million for Bluefield Solar, and £89 million in recycled capital has been returned since the partnership with GLIL began in January 2024.
- Bluefield Solar’s total debt now stands at £588 million, with leverage remaining at 44% of Gross Asset Value (GAV).
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited and GLIL Infrastructure completed a £300 million refinancing deal for their 359MW solar photovoltaic (PV) portfolio in January 2025. The transaction replaces £214 million of inflation-linked debt with £297 million of fixed-rate debt at a rate of 5.8%. This adjustment increases the company’s overall cost of debt slightly to 3.8%, up from 3.4% in September 2024.
The new debt matures in December 2035, aligning with the subsidy period of the assets. The portfolio includes 69 solar PV projects, with 183MW supported by Feed-in Tariff (FiT) subsidies, 128MW by Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs), and 48MW operating on a merchant basis. Bluefield Solar holds over 25% of the portfolio, while GLIL Infrastructure owns the remainder.
This refinancing generates approximately £21 million for Bluefield Solar. In September 2024, the company sold 112MW of solar capacity as part of its strategic partnership with GLIL. Since January 2024, Bluefield Solar has returned roughly £89 million in recycled capital. The company used £50.5 million of the proceeds to repay part of the Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), allocated £10.6 million to its share buyback program, invested £6.2 million into new projects, and directed £1.5 million toward capital expenditure (CapEx) on existing assets.
After refinancing, Bluefield Solar’s total debt stands at £588 million, with the RCF balance at £133.5 million. Based on its unaudited net asset value (NAV) from September 2024, the company maintains leverage at around 44% of Gross Asset Value (GAV).
Bluefield Solar plans to release its interim results on Thursday, February 27, 2025.
John Scott, Chairman of Bluefield Solar, said, “We collaborated closely with GLIL and our lenders to secure this refinancing at an attractive rate. This enables us to return capital to the company, support further RCF repayments, and fund our development pipeline.”