Macquarie divests UK solar PV platform

Macquarie Principal Finance, the principal financing and investing arm of Macquarie Group’s Corporate and Asset Finance division (“Macquarie”), has successfully constructed, financed and divested a 41MWp platform of UK solar PV assets (the “platform”) to Fiera Infrastructure Inc., manager of the Eagle Crest Infrastructure Canada LP and an affiliate of Fiera Capital Corporation.

The platform consists of a combination of residential and commercial rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV systems situated across the UK. The 13,000 residential rooftop solar PV systems in the platform are situated across all regions of England and Wales. In the last year the portfolio has generated 33GWh in residential power, helping to reduce household energy bills in the UK by approximately £3million and helping to avoid around 11,500 tonnes in carbon emissions.

Macquarie has built the platform over the last four years and has successfully managed a number of the assets through development, construction and into operation. With the support of UK government legislation to help generate policy certainty in renewable power production, Macquarie has helped de-risk individual assets by building a scaled platform capable of generating the long-term, stable, inflation-linked cash flows.

Andrew Gray, an Associate Director at Macquarie Principal Finance said: “This transaction demonstrates Macquarie’s continued capacity to develop, build and operate renewable assets in the UK. We are pleased to have created this platform, adding institutional scale and helping to develop the UK’s rooftop solar PV market. We wish Fiera Infrastructure all the best with the business.”

Fiera Infrastructure President, Alina Osorio, said: “This transaction enhances and diversifies our existing portfolio by expanding the assets within our Fund geographically and by adding high-quality complementary renewable energy assets for the benefit of our investors. Our goal is to assemble a portfolio of high quality mid-market core and core-plus infrastructure assets that will generate stable and predictable cash flows over the long term. As a leader in the alternative investment industry, Fiera Infrastructure is always looking to offer its clients the best investment opportunities and the infrastructure asset class is a segment which offers superior growth potential.”

Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited acted as financial advisors on the transaction.

The terms of the transaction are undisclosed.

About Fiera Infrastructure

Fiera Infrastructure, an affiliate of Fiera Capital Corporation, is a leading investor across all subsectors of the infrastructure asset class. Led by a team of highly experienced and specialized professionals, the firm leverages strong global relationships and a rigorous approach to investment and asset management, in combination with Fiera Capital’s excellence in portfolio management and personalized investment solutions. Our uniquely diversified funds recognize the exclusive characteristics of the alternative asset class, while optimizing governance and alignment with investors. Fiera Infrastructure has more than C$900million in assets under management. For more information visit www.fierainfrastructure.com.