Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions provides £155M loan facilities for private residential housing solar PV

Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions (MIDIS) has provided three individual financing facilities to the leading private residential housing and commercial solar PV operator, A Shade Greener (ASG). The total funding amounted to £155 million in total and was used to refinance free solar portfolios of feed-in tariff solar panels.

The facilities were advanced as part of a framework agreement between MIDIS and ASG, under which MIDIS will provide refinancing for portfolios of ASG’s operational free solar assets. This allows ASG to recycle capital and facilitate the roll out of its business model, while helping to cut energy bills for UK consumers.  

Kit Hamilton, Senior Vice President, MIDIS said: “The UK solar PV sector is supported by an established and stable regulatory framework and we are delighted to partner with the leading free solar operator in the industry. The ASG financings represent excellent assets for our pension fund and insurance investors on whose behalf we are sourcing long-term, stable assets in defensive infrastructure sectors.”

Simon Duncan, Chief Financial Officer, ASG said: “We were looking for a long-term lending partner who could help us grow and provide more UK homes and businesses with solar PV technology. MIDIS was able to provide us with certainty and visibility over our financing strategy, allowing us to expand and provide UK consumers access to free solar energy.”

The deal comes after MIDIS’ separate £21.5 million financing of one of the largest UK solar projects in Pembrokeshire, mandated by the renewable energy infrastructure asset manager, Quercus Assets Selection.

MIDIS, a part of Macquarie Group, invests in infrastructure debt for a range of global institutional investors. As at March 2015, MIDIS had raised total commitments in excess of £1 billion for its UK inflation linked debt strategy, which includes separately managed accounts and a pooled fund. As at March 2015, MIDIS had invested in renewable energy assets with a combined annual output of 270,000 megawatt hours, capable of providing electricity to over 65,000 UK households.

About A Shade Greener

A Shade Greener was founded in 2009 and is the market leading UK installer and operator of free solar PV systems for residential customers. ASG install panels on homeowners’ rooftops for free, with the homeowner receiving the benefit of free electricity which typically reduces energy bills by 30-50%. To date ASG have installed free solar systems over 50,000 UK families. For more information visit www.ashadegreener.co.uk.