NESF Nextenergy Solar Fund Limited

TIDMNESF

RNS Number : 1766Z

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

13 September 2022

LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447

13 September 2022

NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited

("NESF" or the "Company")

Scrip Dividend Shares - Additional Listing

NextEnergy Solar Fund, the specialist solar and energy storage climate impact fund, with a combined installed power capacity of 865MW, is pleased to announce the following in respect of the scrip dividend:

 
Dividend period:                     1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022 
Dividend amount per share:           1.88 pence 
                                     ---------------------------- 
Scrip dividend price per share:      121.7 pence 
                                     ---------------------------- 
Payment date/Allotment of scrip:     30 September 2022 
                                     ---------------------------- 
Number of new shares to be issued:   351,742 
                                     ---------------------------- 
 

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for 351,742 ordinary shares to be admitted to trading. These ordinary shares are to be issued as a scrip dividend alternative to receiving a cash dividend in respect of the dividend for the first quarter of the Company's 2022/23 financial year. Dealings are expected to commence at 8:00 a.m. on 30 September 2022.

Immediately following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will comprise 589,698,643 ordinary shares, none of which will be held in treasury. Each ordinary share carries the right to one vote and, therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company on Admission will be 589,698,643. This figure may be used by shareholders and other investors as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For further information:

 
 NextEnergy Capital Group             020 3746 0700 
 Michael Bonte-Friedheim              ir@nextenergysolarfund.com 
 Aldo Beolchini 
 Ross Grier 
 Peter Hamid (Investor Relations) 
 
 RBC Capital Markets                  020 7653 4000 
 Matthew Coakes 
 Kathryn Deegan 
 
 Cenkos Securities                    020 7397 8900 
 James King 
 William Talkington 
 
 Camarco                              020 3781 8334 
 Owen Roberts 
 Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth 
 
 Ocorian Administration (Guernsey) 
  Limited                             014 8174 2642 
 Kevin Smith 
 

Notes to Editors(1) :

About NextEnergy Solar Fund

NESF is a specialist solar and energy storage climate impact fund. The Company is structured as a renewable energy investment company listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange that invests in utility-scale solar power plants and energy storage. The Company may invest up to 30% of its gross asset value in non-UK OECD countries, 15% in solar-focused private infrastructure funds, and 10% in energy storage.

NESF currently has a diversified portfolio comprising of the following:

Solar PV:

 
 --   100 operating solar assets across the UK and Italy (primarily on 
       agricultural, industrial, and commercial sites) 
 --   A 50MW co-investment into a Spanish solar project alongside NextPower 
       III ESG, currently under construction 
 --   A 210MW co-investment into a Portuguese solar project alongside 
       NextPower III ESG, currently under construction 
 --   A UK solar project under construction (Whitecross 36MW) 
 --   A ready-to-build UK solar project (Hatherden 50MW) 
 --   A $50m commitment into NextPower III ESG (a private solar infrastructure 
       fund providing exposure to both operating and under construction, 
       international solar assets) 
 

Energy Storage:

 
 --   A 50MW standalone battery storage project in Fife, Scotland, currently 
       under construction (part of a 250MW joint venture with Eelpower) 
 --   A 6MW co-located battery storage project at North Norfolk Solar 
       Farm 
 

The NESF portfolio has a combined installed power capacity of 865MW (excluding NextPower III MW on an equivalent look-through basis).

As at 30 June 2022, the Company had a unaudited gross asset value of GBP1,198m, being the aggregate of the net asset value of the ordinary shares, the fair value of the preference shares and the amount of NESF Group debt outstanding, and an unaudited net asset value of GBP717.2m.

NESF's investment objective is to provide ordinary shareholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns, principally in the form of regular dividends, by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets. The majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK government subsidies.

For further information on NESF please visit www. nextenergysolarfund.com

Commitment to ESG

NESF is committed to ESG principles and responsible investment which make a meaningful contribution to reducing CO2 emissions through the generation of clean solar power. NESF will only select investments that meet the requirements of NEC Group's Sustainable Investment Policy. Based on this policy, NESF benefits from NEC's rigorous ESG due diligence on each investment. NESF is committed to reporting on its ESG performance in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework and the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

NESF has been awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark and has been designated a Guernsey Green Fund by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

Article 9

NESF is classified under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and EU Taxonomy Regulation.

NESF's sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 can be accessed on the ESG section of both the NESF website ( nextenergysolarfund.com/esg/ ) & NEC Group website ( nextenergycapital.com/sustainability/transparency-and-reporting/ ).

About NextEnergy Group

NESF is managed by NextEnergy Capital, part of the NextEnergy Group. NextEnergy Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in the international solar sector. Since its inception, it has been active in the development, construction, and ownership of solar assets across multiple jurisdictions. NextEnergy Group operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital (Investment Management), WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management) and Starlight (Asset Development).

NextEnergy Capital

NextEnergy Capital comprises the Group's investment management activities. To date, NEC has invested in over 325 individual solar plants for a capacity in excess of 2.3GW across it institutional funds.

www.nextenergycapital.com

 
 --   NextEnergy Solar Fund ("NESF") is a solar infrastructure investment 
       company focused on the UK and other OECD countries, which is listed 
       on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange. It currently 
       owns 865MW spread among 100 individual operating assets in the UK 
       and Italy, comprising an unaudited gross asset value of GBP1,198m. 
       NESF is one of the largest listed solar energy investment companies 
       in the world. 
 --   NextPower II ("NPII") a private fund made up of 105 individual 
       operating solar power plants and an installed capacity of 149MW, 
       focused on consolidating the substantial, highly fragmented Italian 
       solar market. NPII was successfully divested in January 2022, a 
       2016 vintage vehicle that generated net IRRs in excess of its gross 
       target of 10-12%. 
 --   NextPower III ESG ("NPIII") is a private fund exclusively focused 
       on the international solar infrastructure sector, principally targeting 
       projects in carefully selected OECD countries, including the US, 
       Portugal, Spain, Chile, Poland and Italy. NPIII is a fund that provides 
       a positive social and environmental impact to the countries it has 
       and will invest into. NPIII completed its fundraise with a total 
       of $896m, including a SMA raised. The target of the fund was $750m. 
 --   NextPower UK ESG ("NPUK") is a private unlevered fund investing 
       in greenfield subsidy-free solar projects, with PPA's, in the UK. 
       NPUK was launched in December 2021. The UK Infrastructure Bank is 
       providing financing to the initial seed assets of the fund, and 
       plans to invest up to GBP250m, half of the fund's total target fund 
       size, on a match-funding basis. 
 

WiseEnergy

WiseEnergy(R) is NextEnergy Capital Group's operating asset manager. WiseEnergy is a leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector. Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management, monitoring and technical due diligence services to over 1,400 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed capacity in excess of 1.8GW. WiseEnergy clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector.

www.wise-energy.com

Starlight

Starlight is NextEnergy Group's development company that is active in the development phase of solar projects. It has developed over 100 utility-scale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.5GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

Notes:

(1:) All financial data is unaudited as at 30 June 2022, being the latest date in respect of which NESF has published financial information

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September 13, 2022 02:02 ET (06:02 GMT)