Bluefield Solar Income Share Discussion Threads

[adamb1978] 20/11/2020 16:33

I don't disagree with the comments above - have you voiced your concerns to the company?

[williamcooper104] 20/11/2020 16:25

That's the issue - once upon a time it was genuinely a real pain to involve retail but it's very easy now

[zero the hero] 20/11/2020 14:28

Couldn't agree more that PI's should have been involved, but that would have taken a bit of extra work, and most companies cannot be bothered. The real problem is that institutions have most of the voting rights, so why should they even bother with small fry. Sad really, but our loyalty is only as long as we see a profit :-)

[masurenguy] 20/11/2020 12:39

I agree. Existing retail shareholders should also have been given the opportunity to add at that price. Sadly, many of these companies only focus their attention on the big institutions. I understand why that is often the case, but the unequal distribution of benefits in this context is one of the negative consequences of modern capitalism

[andyj] 20/11/2020 12:14

They set it at a discount that ensured it would be fully subscribed. It is the disdain for PIs that rankles with me. Everyone appears certain that it will return to the mid 130s. And it needs to or the placing equates to a year's dividend wiped out.

[mikealig] 20/11/2020 11:49

Looks like a few people are taking a quick profit from the placing. Nothing wrong with that. Just bought a few more with the prospect of a 6% yield and I think the drop will be temporary as the placing was over-subscribed.
All IMHO

[masurenguy] 20/11/2020 07:11

20 November 2020

Result of Placing

Further to the announcement dated 16 November 2020 the Board of Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited is pleased to announce the successful placing of new ordinary shares. A total of 36,500,000 new ordinary shares (the "Placing Shares") have been placed, subject to Admission and on the other terms and conditions set out in the Appendix to the announcement made on 16 November 2020, by Numis Securities Limited ("Numis") at a price of 124p per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately £45m. The Placing Shares represent approximately 9.99% of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company prior to the Placing.

The Placing was over-subscribed and accordingly it has been necessary to scale back applications. All Placing Shares issued pursuant to the Placing will, when issued and fully paid, confer the right to receive all dividends or other distributions made, paid or declared, if any, by reference to a record date after the date of their issue.

Application has been made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to the premium segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange. It is expected that Admission will take place at 8.00am on 24 November 2020 (or such later date as may be agreed between the Company and Numis). Following Admission, the number of ordinary shares that the Company has in issue will be 406,999,622 and this figure may be used by shareholders 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 Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

John Rennocks, Chairman of the Company, commented "We are delighted with the success of this significantly oversubscribed placing, the first fundraise undertaken by Bluefield Solar since we broadened the investment mandate earlier this year. It places the Company in a strong position to continue with its growth plans in 2021 and we thank our shareholders for their support."

[18bt] 16/11/2020 09:31

Agreed, I would hae taken more through Primary Bid

[williamcooper104] 16/11/2020 09:27

That's usually what happens No excuse with Primary Bid not to let retail investors in on the offer That's seriously annoying

[mikealig] 16/11/2020 09:01

Depends how you look at it really. Members of the public including existing shareholders are not eligible but it may bring the current share price down even further than it has already this morning, so could be an opportunity to top up. It has been a very reliable dividend payer so the drop may be short-lived.
All IMHO

[vb6] 16/11/2020 08:45

Is this a good thing?

[masurenguy] 16/11/2020 07:13

16 November 2020
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited

Placing to raise up to approximately £45m

The Company is pleased to announce a proposed placing of new ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing Shares") (the "Placing") at a price of 124p per Placing Share (the "Placing Price"), with the intention of raising a target of approximately £45m to repay the drawn revolving credit facility. Numis Securities Ltd ("Numis"), the Company's corporate broker, is acting as placing agent to the Company in respect of the Placing. The Placing is not being underwritten.

Background to the Placing

The Company currently holds an operational portfolio of 105PV plants (consisting of 64 large-scale sites, 39 microsites and 2 rooftop sites) with a total capacity of 543 MegaWatt peak ("MWp"). The portfolio displays strong diversity through geographical variety, a range of proven PV technologies and infrastructure (arising from the solar PV farms having been constructed by a number of experienced solar contractors) and a blend of asset sizes with capacities ranging from micro-sites to substantial utility-scale solar farms (including two plants at c.50MWp).The Company has recently successfully completed a material acquisition of a UK-based portfolio of 15 plants with a total installed capacity of 64.2MWp for an initial cash consideration of £106.6m (including working capital) with deferred consideration of up to £2.1m, contingent on securing asset life extensions. This transaction was financed through increased debt facilities and resulted in the total outstanding debt of the Company and its group (the "Group") increasing to £328.2m which includes £44.1m drawn on a revolving credit facility. This figure represents 43.1% of gross asset value ("GAV") which is in line with the board of directors of the Company's target long term leverage of 40-50% of GAV. As a consequence, in order not to exceed the target leverage, any future material acquisitions would require the Company to issue further equity to either finance acquisitions directly or to reduce debt to provide the capacity and flexibility for future acquisitions.

In keeping with the objective of the Company's investment adviser, Bluefield Partners LLP (the "Investment Adviser"), to deliver value and return accretive acquisition opportunities to the Company, the Investment Adviser continues to evaluate a significant number of acquisition opportunities, which includes both subsidised portfolios as well as a small number of ready to build subsidy free assets

Details of the Placing

The Placing Shares issued pursuant to the Placing will be issued at the Placing Price, being 124p each. The Placing Price represents a premium of approximately 8.3%. to the last published unaudited net asset value as at 30 September 2020 (after deducting the FY20/21 fourth interim dividend paid on 28 October 2020) and a discount of approximately 7.1%. to the closing share price on 13 November 2020.

The size of the Placing will be determined at the absolute discretion of the Company and Numis. The maximum number of Placing Shares available under the Placing is 36,500,000, representing approximately 9.9%. of the current issued share capital of the Company. The maximum number of Placing Shares available to be issued should not be taken as an indication of the actual number of Placing Shares that will be issued, which will be determined at the close of the Placing, expected to be on 19 November 2020. The Placing is available to Qualified Investors (as defined in the Terms and Conditions appended to this Announcement), who are invited to apply for Placing Shares through Numis on the contact details below.

Whilst the Placing will be non-pre-emptive, in making its allocation decision, Numis (in consultation with the Company and the Investment Adviser) will take into account applications for Placing Shares from existing shareholders with a view to giving these priority over other investors, where applicable, and allocating to existing shareholders such number of Placing Shares to enable them to retain their existing percentage holding of Ordinary Shares in the issued share capital Company following the issue of Placing Shares. However, allocation of the Placing Shares remains at the absolute discretion of Numis (in consultation with the Company and the Investment Adviser), and existing shareholders will not be entitled to any minimum allocation of Placing Shares and there can be no guarantee that existing shareholders who apply for Placing Shares in the Placing will receive all or any of the Placing Shares for which they apply because the allocation of Placing Shares shall be determined by Numis (in consultation with the Company and the Investment Adviser) in its absolute discretion and Numis may scale down any Placing Share commitments for this purpose on such basis as it may determine.

The expected timetable for the Placing is as follows:

2020
-------------------------
Placing opens 16 November
--------------------------------------- -------------------------
Placing closes 5.00 p.m. on 19 November
--------------------------------------- -------------------------
Results of Placing announced and trade 20 November
date
--------------------------------------- -------------------------
Admission of Placing Shares 24 November
--------------------------------------- -------------------------

All times and dates are subject to amendment. In particular, the Company and Numis reserve the right to close the Placing at any time. The results of the Placing will be announced shortly thereafter.

Following the Placing, application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to listing on the premium segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to be admitted to trading on the premium segment of the main market for listed securities of London Stock Exchange plc (together, "Admission"). Settlement for the Placing Shares and Admission is expected to take place on or before 8.00 a.m. on 24 November 2020. The Placing is conditional, among other things, upon Admission becoming effective and the placing agreement dated 16 November 2020 between the Company, the Investment Adviser and Numis not being terminated prior to Admission.

All Placing Shares issued pursuant to the Placing will, when issued and fully paid, confer the right to receive all dividends or other distributions made, paid or declared, if any, by reference to a record date after the date of their issue.

[masurenguy] 27/10/2020 08:38

RNS Number : 2604D
27 October 2020

Unaudited NAV 30 September 2020

Bluefield Solar (LON: BSIF), announces its net asset value (" NAV ") at 30 September 2020 was £424.3m, or 114.53p per share, compared to the NAV at 30 June 2020 of £433.5m, or 117.01p per share. The 30 September NAV is stated after deducting the FY 20/21 fourth Interim dividend of 2.05p per share announced on 22 September 2020 and which will be paid on 28 October 2020. This equates to a NAV total return for the quarter of 1.3%, including the Q3 dividend paid in the period of 1.95p per share and the Q4 dividend declared of 2.05p per share.

The dividend of 2.05p per share to be paid on 28 October 2020 represents the fourth interim dividend in respect of the financial year ending 30 June 2020, resulting in total dividends paid in respect of the 2019/20 financial year of 7.90p per share. As stated in the financial year ('FY') 2020 annual report, the Board has indicated that target dividends for FY 2020/21 are 8.00p per share.

[masurenguy] 23/9/2020 08:26

Bluefield has to look beyond solar as renewables evolve
By Jeremy Gordon 22 Sep, 2020

The managers of Bluefield Solar Income (BSIF) have said the £500m investment company needs to evolve as the energy sector is reshaped by decarbonisation, while they are also mulling an equity raise to deliver on the broader mandate recently backed by shareholders.

Last month, Bluefield also made its first major acquisition for three years, buying a 64.2MWp portfolio of 15 solar plants. Acquired for an initial cash outlay of £107m, that increases the total energy generation capacity of the fund to 543MWp. James Armstrong of Bluefield Partners, investment adviser to the closed-end fund, said they were ‘really excited’ by the acquisition, which has a ‘very high’ level of regulated revenues, deriving from guaranteed government subsidies. The manager explained that was a factor they had come to value more as already low power prices in the UK took a fresh hit from plummeting demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

Until 2033, the proportion of regulated revenues on the acquired assets is projected to be 66%, compared to 59% for Bluefield’s existing portfolio. The deal was financed by a three-year £110m loan, which increased leverage to around 44% of gross asset value (GAV). That puts gearing at what the managers see as an optimal level, another part of the rationale for the transaction.

Beyond solar

While the asset’s defensive profile fits the wider portfolio, it also comes as Bluefield Partners keeps an eye on the fund’s evolution. In July, shareholders voted to widen its investment policy beyond solar and delink its dividend policy from inflation. A maximum of 25% of the fund is now allowed to be invested in non-solar assets. In the short term, that is likely to be onshore wind and hydro. As part of that 25% allocation, 10% can be invested in assets outside the UK, although this is intended to facilitate transactions rather than allow for long-term holdings.

Dividends were changed from increasing in line with RPI to a progressive policy, rising each year, while the previous policy of paying specials out of excess income was dropped. Having hit the target of 7.9p per share for the last financial year, which ended 30 June, the target for this year is 8p. The board intends to remain the highest dividend payer in the sector on a pence per share basis. The shares yield 5.%. According to annual results, after the costs of long-term debt and including brought forward reserves, the available profits for distribution were 10.13p per share at the end of June, compared to 8.91p in the previous financial year. That also meant dividend reserves rose from 0.6p per share to 2.23p, more than a quarter of the current year’s dividend.

Armstrong said the move provided a route for the fund to safeguard its income credentials as the UK’s energy mix shifted. ‘From when we IPO’ed in 2013 to today, the energy market’s very different. It’s going to be far different in seven years’ time and you have to evolve,’ he said. The manager outlined why as more of the UK’s energy was generated by solar and wind – which are by nature somewhat irregular – the strategy would need to change. ‘A consequence of decarbonisation is you’re going to have higher levels of intermittent generation. You’re going to have higher level of intraday and day-forward price volatility,’ he said. ‘So, the market’s going to be far different from boring old baseload stuff.’

Bluefield has three response to that higher variability in the price of electricity.

The first is continuing to focus on regulated revenues, which are not affected by fluctuating power prices.

The second is for fixing prices ahead at favourable times, using power purchase agreements, or PPAs. That means revenues are less exposed the short-term movements of supply and demand, something Armstrong emphasised was already a focus. The fund has a ‘price confidence level’ of 100% to December 2020 and approximately 82% to June next year over the pricing of its power and subsidy revenue streams, according to the results.

The third is investing in energy storage assets, which can exploit daily movements in the power price by buying low and selling high. While the managers feel the investment case is not right currently, longer term, the widening mandate will enable them to capitalise. ‘You need to look at how you play the storage market and that’s why we wanted to have that ability to invest in storage when it’s right,’ said Armstrong. ‘It’s not if storage comes, it’s when, because if it doesn’t happen then renewables don’t work properly for energy systems.’

Growth ambitions

The other reason for broadening the investment mandate was growth. To that end, with little cash in the fund and gearing now close to the permitted limit of 50% of GAV, Armstrong agreed that an equity raise at some point was feasible. Bluefield’s shares are currently trading at a 21% premium, according to broker Numis, reflecting high demand.

While, as shown by the recent transaction, the managers remain focused on subsidised solar, subsidy-free solar has also been under consideration. The fund has an unsubsidised solar development pipeline in excess of 350MWp, according to the results, through agreements with select developers. Armstrong explained these agreements were varied, but generally gave first right of refusal on the assets. While coronavirus had delayed development and could delay it further, he said next year could see some of these opportunities come to fruition.

Total returns for Bluefield’s shareholders over the year ended 30 June were 4.7% compared to negative 15.4% for the FTSE 100, according to the results. To yesterday, shareholder total returns over five years were 81%, compared to the 56% average gain in the Association of Investment Companies’ Renewable Energy Infrastructure sector.

[masurenguy] 22/9/2020 08:14

Yes, a solid set of results. Current shareprice at a 15% premium to NAV. Dividend target of 8p in 2020/2021 represents a yield of 5.9% at today's price.

"The Board is pleased to have declared full year dividends of 7.90 pence per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending 30 June 2020 compared to a full year dividend of 7.68 pence per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending 30 June 2019. They have been covered by earnings and is post debt amortisation. Furthermore, the Board reconfirms the Company's target dividend of 8.00 pence per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending on 30 June 2021."

[18bt] 22/9/2020 07:52

Good results and very open commentary as usual. Tucking away a couple of pps of potential dividend gives it a bit of resilience and they are very open about the market and their view of valuation of assets. Nice comment about NED Board sucession now being looked at - new NEDs will have a hard act to follow, not least the Chairman. At a mcap of £500m, they ought to be able to source the same calibre of long-term very bright investment professionals.

[masurenguy] 03/9/2020 09:06

Bluefield Solar will announce Full Year Results for Y/E 30 June 2020 on Tuesday, 22 September 2020.

[williamcooper104] 24/8/2020 11:52

And BSIF may have to collaterise mark to market movements

[williamcooper104] 24/8/2020 11:51

Those long dated swaps can really really hurt

[18bt] 24/8/2020 10:21

Muted reaction to something that is earnings accretive and enhances or at least protects dividend yield.

[masurenguy] 24/8/2020 07:37

Looks like a good, earnings enhancing, acquisition !

On 20 August 2020, the Company completed the acquisition of the portfolio for an initial cash consideration of £106.6m including working capital. The final consideration may be increased by up to £2.1m, contingent on securing asset life extensions. The Company will receive the economic benefit of all cash flows from the portfolio from 1 January 2020. The portfolio consists of 15 ground-mounted operational solar PV plants, with 8 sites clustered in the south west of England, 2 in west Wales and a further 5 across central and eastern England. The portfolio benefits from attractive subsidies; 13 of the projects are accredited under the Renewable Obligation Certificate ('ROC') regime with tariffs ranging from 1.4 - 2.0 ROCs, while two of the projects are accredited under the feed-in-tariff ('FiT') scheme. Including the FiT projects, the weighted average tariff for the portfolio is equivalent to circa 1.8 ROCs/MWh. In the period 2021-2033 (2033 being the year in which the subsidies on the earliest plants begin to expire), the proportion of regulated revenues from this portfolio is projected to be approximately 66% (compared to 57% for the Company's existing portfolio).

The acquisition has been financed by a bespoke three-year, interest only, re-drawable term loan at an effective all in cost of circa 1.41% (being margin and swap rate). Furthermore, the Company has elected to hedge 75% of the loan over a notional 18-year period, at a swap rate of circa 0.31% until 2038, to provide underlying rate certainty in anticipation of a refinancing scenario in or before August 2023. Following the transaction, the Company's total outstanding debt has increased to £332.0m and the total installed capacity of its portfolio has grown to 543 MWp. Using the Company's 31 March 2020 unaudited net asset value ('NAV') of £418.7m as a reference, the leverage level of the Company will rise from circa 34% to circa 44% of Gross Asset Value ('GAV').

[gateside] 18/8/2020 16:23

Poor NAV update from JLEN may have affected this today. Beginning to look like a tempting buy if it falls much further.

[masurenguy] 24/7/2020 11:05

Topped up this morning.

[18bt] 24/7/2020 10:04

As a reminder, this is what the July EGM notice said re wind:

The widening of the Investment Policy is deliberately focused on the renewable technologies that are closest to solar in terms of risk and return. Operational subsidised wind has a complementary generation profile to the Company’s existing portfolio and the regulated revenues attached to such assets lowers the power exposure. The secondary market for wind is deep and certain segments are less competitive than others. The Investment Adviser has recruited a highly experienced wind professional to be the investment director to oversee wind acquisitions. The ability to acquire solar and wind portfolios together is also viewed as a competitive advantage in an increasing number of purchase opportunities the Investment Adviser is seeing. Another complementary technology is subsidised hydro, albeit the market is much smaller compared to solar and wind.

The Investment Adviser continues to evaluate non-subsidised solar projects and is also undertaking an assessment of non-subsidised wind. Both have attractive return characteristics, with solar playing to the Investment Adviser’s investment, technical and operational capabilities and wind offering the potential for higher returns using synergies from the Investment Adviser’s asset management infrastructure. The recent drop in UK power prices puts pressure on the Company’s model but the cost reduction dynamic of both technologies would indicate that subsidy free investments will continue to be a viable, and economically attractive, option over the long term. As the Company already has a proven and successful power sales strategy and technical asset management capability in place, the Company expects to be able to deliver attractive risk weighted returns.