LEI: 213800ZPHCBDDSQH5447
18 June 2024
NextEnergy Solar Fund
Limited
("NESF"
or the "Company")
£20 Million Share Buyback
Programme
The Board of NextEnergy Solar Fund,
a leading specialist investor in solar energy and energy storage,
is pleased to announce that it has approved an initial share
buyback programme (the "Programme") of up to £20 million.
The Board believes that the
Company's current level of discount to its Net Asset Value ("NAV")
is unjustified. Based on the historical and projected
financial and operational performance of the Company's diversified
high-quality solar plant portfolio and the recent data points from
the Company's asset sales, the valuation of the Company's
underlying NAV remains robust. The Board continues to maintain a
disciplined approach to capital allocation and considers the
Programme to be in the best interest and value to its shareholders
at this point in time.
The Board will continue to review
the Company's discount to NAV alongside the Company's level of
gearing and maintain full discretion and flexibility over future
increases to the size of the Programme.
The Programme will be carried out
under the existing shareholder authorisation granted at the last
Annual General Meeting for purchases of Ordinary Shares by the
Company in the market for up to 14.99% of the Company's issued
capital. The Programme will be
conducted within certain pre-set parameters including those
prescribed by the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014 (as it forms
part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended)) and Chapter 12 of the Listing
Rules.
Helen Mahy, Chairwoman of NextEnergy
Solar Fund Limited,
commented:
"NextEnergy Solar Fund continues to
maintain a strong financial platform in a challenging
environment. After careful consideration and review, the
Board of Directors have taken action aimed at narrowing the
Company's current share price discount to its Net Asset Value and
implemented a Share Buyback Programme. We are confident that
the Programme will strengthen the Company's share price performance
and are pleased with the ongoing progress against the Company's
strategic objectives, by completing the second phase of its Capital
Recycling Programme. The Board and Investment Adviser view
the current size of the Company's discount to NAV as unjustified
and this Programme is in the best interests of our
shareholders. The Board remains committed to maintaining
a disciplined approach to capital
allocation and continues to prioritise narrowing the
discount."
For further information:
NextEnergy Capital
Michael Bonte-Friedheim
|
020 3746 0700
ir@nextenergysolarfund.com
|
Ross Grier
|
|
Stephen Rosser
|
|
Peter Hamid (Investor
Relations)
|
|
RBC Capital Markets
|
020 7653 4000
|
Matthew Coakes
|
|
Elizabeth Evans
Kathryn Deegan
|
|
Cavendish
|
020 7397 1909
|
James King
|
|
William Talkington
|
|
H/Advisors Maitland
|
020 7379 5151
|
Neil Bennett
|
|
Finlay Donaldson
|
|
|
|
Ocorian Administration (Guernsey)
Limited
|
01481 742642
|
Kevin Smith
|
|
Notes to
Editors1:
About NextEnergy Solar
Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is a
specialist solar energy and energy storage investment company that
is listed on the premium segment of the London Stock
Exchange.
NextEnergy Solar Fund'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 utility-scale
solar energy and energy storage infrastructure assets. The
majority of NESF's long-term cash flows are inflation-linked via UK
government subsidies.
As at 31 March 2024, the Company had
an unaudited gross asset value of £1,155m. More information
is available at www.nextenergysolarfund.com
Article 9 Fund
NextEnergy Solar Fund is classified
under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation
and EU Taxonomy Regulation. NextEnergy Solar Fund's
sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector
are in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and can be
accessed on the ESG section of both the NextEnergy Solar Fund and
NextEnergy Capital websites.
About NextEnergy Group
NextEnergy Solar Fund 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: has over 17 years of
specialist solar expertise having invested in over 400 individual
solar plants across the world. NextEnergy Capital currently
manages four institutional funds with a total capacity in excess of
3GW and has assets under management of $4.3bn.
More information is available at
www.nextenergycapital.com
· 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 1,500 utility-scale solar power plants with an
installed capacity in excess of 2.5GW. More information is available at www.wise-energy.com
· Starlight:
has developed over
100 utility-scale projects internationally
and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.10GW of both green
and brownfield project developments across global
geographies. More information is available at www.starlight-energy.com
Notes:
1: All financial data
is unaudited at 31 March 2024, being the latest date in respect
of which NextEnergy Solar Fund has published financial
information