Lightsource Renewable Energy has closed project financing on the under-construction Sycamore solar plant in south-east England and turned to build the 19MW plant by cash, according to a report on reNews.biz.
To support the solar project in Old Romney, which is sited across 120 acres and will feature more than 80 thousands PV panels, Investec Bank is providing a £14 million term facility and £1 million VAT facility. The transaction following several operational project refinancing deals with Investec is the first construction debt financing Lightsoruce has engaged in.
“Investec continues to be an exceptional, supportive partner and following a series of successful transactions we are looking forward to the growing the partnership through future deals,” said Lightsource structured finance director Paul McCartie. “We closed seven separate project financing transactions last year, borrowing almost £200 million. It is clear that key to a lender’s decision to enter into a financing process is the sponsor’s ability to transact and their track record in closing financings,” he added.
Olivier Fricot, head of power and renewables lending at Investec, added: “This transaction represents another significant deal for us in the UK solar market and we look forward to further supporting Lightsource in the realization of their 2014 pipeline”
According to reNews.biz’s report, Investec has now funded in excess of 120MW of solar while Lightsource has an operational portfolio topping 316MW in the UK across 250 sites.
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the developer’s Lexham project (Source: Lightsource / reNews) |