21 October 2025
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited
('Bluefield Solar' or the 'Company')
Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 30 June 2025
Update on Strategic Initiatives
Bluefield Solar (LON:BSIF), the London listed income fund focused on acquiring and managing renewable energy and storage assets predominantly in the UK, is pleased to announce its Annual Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2025.
Annual Report:
The Company's Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2025 is now available on the Reports & Publications section of the Company's website ( https://bluefieldsif.com/investors/reports-and-publications/ )
The Annual Report has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
As at 30 June 2025 / 30 June 2024
Net Asset Value (NAV) £690.1m £781.6m |
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Dividend Target per Share 8.90pps 8.80pps |
NAV per share 116.56p 129.75p |
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Underlying Earnings1 (pre amortisation of debt) £95.3m £94.6m
Underlying Earnings per share1 (pre amortisation of debt) 16.03p 15.51p
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Total Shareholder Return in year2 0.38% -4.67%
Total Return in year3 -3.38% .-0.83%
Total return to Shareholders since IPO 84.59% 84.19%
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Underlying Earnings per share available for distribution1 (post amortisation of debt) 10.40p 10.57p
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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ESG KPIs Ø Generated 797,974 MWh of renewable energy4 (June 2024: 810,602 MWh) Ø Powered the equivalent of 295,500 UK homes5 (June 2024: 300,000) Ø Avoided 141,200 tonnes of CO2e emmissions6 (June 2024: 167,800 tonnes)
ESG Highlights *Completed a Double Materiality Assessment (DMA), used to refresh the Company's ESG framework and strategy. *Delivered an industry-academic research partnership focused upon circular economy. *Awarded 'ESG Innovation of the Year (Research)' by Environmental Finance as part of their 2025 Sustainability awards. |
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Construction and Development Pipeline |
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· 25 MW under construction · 1,063 MW consented · 220 MW in planning · 110 MW development pipeline |
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1.4 GW (763 MW Solar, 655 MW battery) |
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1. Underlying earnings is an alternative performance measure employed by the Company to provide insight to the Shareholders by linking the underlying financial performance of the operational projects to the dividends declared and paid by the Company.
2.Total Shareholder Return is based on share price movement and dividends paid in the Year.
3. Total Return is based on the NAV movement and dividends paid in the Year.
4 . Performance relates to the Company's wholly owned investments.
5. Based on Ofgem's Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCV).
6. Based on generation data aligned with the relevant 2025 Government CO2e conversion factor. In the current Year, the Company reported avoided emissions on a gross basis, reflecting its equity share in investments but without allocating any avoided emissions to debt finance providers.
Results Summary:
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For the year ended 30 June 2025 |
For the year ended 30 June 2024 |
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Total operating income |
(£25,948,967) |
(£7,410,520) |
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Total comprehensive income before tax |
(£28,470,960) |
(£9,600,983) |
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Total underlying earnings (pre amortisation of debt) 1 |
£95,344,272 |
£94,580,146 |
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Earnings per share (per page 70) |
(4.79p) |
(1.57p) |
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Total underlying EPS available for distribution2 |
10.40p |
10.57p |
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Total declared dividends per share for year |
8.90p |
8.80p |
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Underlying earnings per share carried forward (See Page 26) |
6.51p |
3.40p |
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NAV per share |
116.56p |
129.75p |
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Share price at 30 June |
97.2p |
105.60p |
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Total return3 |
(3.38)% |
(0.83)% |
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Total Shareholder Return4 |
0.38% |
(4.67)% |
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Total Shareholder Return since inception5 |
84.59% |
84.19% |
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Dividends per share paid since inception |
87.39p |
78.59p |
1. Underlying earnings is an alternative performance measure employed by the Company to provide insight to the Shareholders by linking the underlying financial performance of the operational projects to the dividends declared and paid by the Company.
2. Total underlying EPS is calculated using underlying earnings available for distribution, including unutilised prior year underlying earnings per share carried forward and proceeds received in the period for strategic activities, divided by the average number of shares.
3. Total return is based on NAV per share movement and dividends paid in the year.
4. Total Shareholder Return is based on share price movement and dividends paid in the year .
5. Total Shareholder Return since inception is based on share price movement and dividends paid since the IPO.
Analyst presentation
A remote call for analysts will be hosted by James Armstrong and Neil Wood of Bluefield Partners LLP at 09:30am today, 21 October 2025. Michael Gibbons and John Scott will also be present on the call. For details, please contact Buchanan on [email protected].
A copy of the presentation is available via the Company's website and an audio webcast of the presentation will also be made available at 09:30am today.
For further information:
Bluefield Solar Board To be contacted via Ocorian
Bluefield Partners LLP (Company Investment Adviser)
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Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7078 0020 |
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Deutsche Numis (Company Broker)
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 |
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Ocorian
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Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742
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Media enquiries: |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
About Bluefield Solar
Bluefield Solar is a London listed income fund focused primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets. Not less than 75% of the Company's gross assets will be invested into UK solar assets. The Company can also invest up to 25% of its gross assets into other technologies, such as wind and storage. Bluefield Solar owns and operates a UK portfolio of 850MW, comprising 792MW of solar and 58MW of onshore wind.
Further information can be viewed at www.bluefieldsif.com
About Bluefield Partners
Bluefield Partners LLP was established in 2009 and is an investment adviser to companies and funds investing in renewable energy infrastructure. It has a proven record in the selection, acquisition and supervision of large-scale energy assets in the UK and Europe. The team has been involved in over £6.3 billion renewable funds and/or transactions in both the UK and Europe, including over £1.9 billion in the UK since December 2011.
Bluefield Partners LLP has led the acquisitions of, and currently advises on, over 100 UK based solar photovoltaic assets that are agriculturally, commercially or industrially situated. Based in its London office, it is supported by a dedicated and experienced team of investment, legal and portfolio executives. Bluefield Partners LLP was appointed Investment Adviser to Bluefield Solar in June 2013.
Introduction
I am pleased to place before Shareholders a significant statement regarding the Company's future direction, drawing upon the fundamental review of BSIF's strategy which is currently underway.
The Directors recognise that the historically low interest rate environment that supported the early years of the Company and its peers is unlikely to return; these conditions fostered the creation of a substantial new industry sector, becoming known as 'renewable utility yieldcos', with BSIF as one of the leading actors on the stage. But financial markets have changed and your Board has therefore been working to determine a more appropriate structure in which to place an integrated green power entity, suitable for the next decade and beyond. In this statement we will analyse the background to the current situation and explain what your Board has done to assess it, together with our conclusions to be discussed with Shareholders.
The past financial year, which ended on 30 June 2025 (the "Year"), has seen a continuation of most of the issues your Company has been confronting since 2022 - with the happy exception that irradiation was much better in the second six months (January to June 2025).
Longer term Shareholders will recall that, until summer 2022, with our shares trading at a consistent premium to NAV, we were able to raise significant equity capital through a series of oversubscribed placings. This route became more challenging towards the end of the Johnson administration, when the Financial Times ran articles suggesting that the renewable energy sector would face windfall taxes. The fundraising door closed completely following the Truss mini-budget in autumn 2022; although most measures proposed therein were promptly reversed by Jeremy Hunt on becoming Chancellor, the legacy spooked markets and provoked significantly higher sterling interest rates for an extended period.
This caused our share price to fall and a concomitant discount to NAV emerged (at times to more than 30%), a position which we, along with the rest of our sector, have found ourselves in for the past three years; we are thereby becalmed in a sea of equity starvation, with little prospect of more benign conditions. Access to equity capital, which had facilitated the expansion of the Company's asset base and its burgeoning development pipeline, has been closed. Fortunately, our Investment Adviser has been successful, not only in creating a series of liquidity events which have realised over £120m in cash proceeds in the past eighteen months, but also in identifying other sources of funds, notably through our partnership with GLIL Infrastructure ("GLIL").
Much of this narrative will be familiar to Shareholders who read last year's Annual Report. Recognising that positive action was required, my statement in the Company's interim report, released on 27 February 2025, disclosed that "the Board is committed to exploring strategic initiatives to address the share price discount and to continue to seek to maximise value for our shareholders" and it is indeed down this path that your Board has been working for the past seven months to explore options for the future of the Company.
The Board, in conjunction with the Investment Adviser and with the support of its own financial advisers, has evaluated numerous and diverse possibilities to seek to maximise value for BSIF Shareholders, including evaluating offers for the Company's assets as a whole. Despite the strong level of interest shown, leading to an exclusivity agreement and the commencement of due diligence, the preferred bidder decided not to move to a binding offer for the Company's assets. We learned a great deal from this experience; it became clear to the Board that potential investor interest was greatest when considering the Company's operating assets in combination with its sizeable development pipeline, alongside the Investment Adviser, with its proven development and operating capabilities. From the launch of BSIF, our Investment Adviser has been Bluefield Partners and together with its affiliated service companies is known today as the Bluefield Group.
Put simply, we discovered that the whole Bluefield enterprise is worth more than the sum of its parts. This insight helps define the Board's current thinking in terms of the future direction of BSIF, which I discuss further later in this statement.
The past year
In the second half of the Year - January to June 2025 - BSIF experienced its best period of irradiation, which underpinned our strong operating performance. Solar generation for the six months was 8.49% ahead of forecast and wind farm output was marginally behind expectations. Our overall performance for the year was 2.25% behind budget, reflecting in the main a disappointing solar performance in the latter half of 2024.
Our partnership with GLIL has continued to work for the benefit of both parties. During the Year, Phase Two of the strategic partnership was completed, being the sale of a 50% stake in a c.112MW portfolio of UK solar assets owned by BSIF. This has provided BSIF with a source of capital to invest in our project pipeline, and we have been able to repay some of our revolving credit facility. Our joint venture with GLIL, Lyceum Solar, in which BSIF holds a 25% stake, now has an installed capacity of 358.7MW.
In February 2024 we embarked on a share buyback programme and this concluded on 10th January 2025. We have many other calls on our capital and have no current plans to resume buybacks.
Two of our largest solar investments - Mauxhall Farm (44.54MW) and Yelvertoft (48.4MW) - were energised early in the Year. Whilst post period end, in August 2025, Mauxhall as well as 150MW of solar and 25MW of BESS developments was sold to Lyceum Solar under Phase Three of our partnership with GLIL. As a result, the Company's operational net capacity on a look-through basis has reduced from 883MW to 850MW, with 749MW of the Company's operational capacity being 100% owned.
From July 2024 to 30 June 2025 the Company crystallised c. £92.0m in realisations from the portfolio, paid down £50.5 million of its RCF, deployed c.£10.6 million into buybacks and invested a further c.£21.7 million across construction, development and target equipment replacements with its operating asset base; when combined with the carried forward earnings from FY 24/25 of c.£29.4 million, this means the Company has surplus cash balance of c.£38.5m available for strategic initiatives.
To this end, I am pleased to report that the cash surplus carried forward from FY 24/25 and the sale proceeds from Phase Three in August 2025 have enabled the Company, post Year end, to secure 100% ownership of 249MW of PV and 130MW of BESS (the "Galaxy Portfolio"). This represents c. 40% of the Company's ready-to-build PV pipeline and c. 20% of its ready-to-build BESS pipeline by capacity. It carries material strategic value for the Company and demonstrates how the Company differentiates itself from its listed peers.
The Galaxy Portfolio was developed together with BRD, with the Company having a 60% shareholding in each project and BRD owning the remaining 40%. Post year end a Sale and Purchase Agreement ('SPA') has been entered into with BRD to increase BSIF's shareholding to 100% ownership.
Highlights of the year
· Total declared dividends for the Year increased to 8.90pps, in line with our previously declared target (30 June 2024: 8.80pps) and with dividends covered 1.2x times by current earnings;
· Irradiation was 6.8% above expectation and solar generation was 1.9% above forecast even after significant plant downtime due to material DNO outages and planned inverter replacements;
· The average total unit price for the solar portfolio was 0.8% above forecast and for the wind portfolio was 5.7% above forecast despite spot electricity prices falling - thanks to contracts struck earlier and to our high proportion of regulated and inflation-linked revenues;
· Phase Two of the Strategic Partnership with GLIL, being the sale of a 50% stake in a 112MW portfolio of UK solar assets owned by BSIF, released c.£70 million;
· Work on the Company's development pipeline continued, with planning consents being secured on 1,063MW;
· The NAV per share fell to 116.56 pence (30 June 2024: 129.75 pence), driven primarily by forecasts of lower long term electricity prices;
· BSIF's shares traded at a persistent discount to NAV, the closing price on 30 June 2025 97.20pps being 17% below the NAV (30 June 2024: 19% discount);
· In February 2025, re-financing of the Strategic Partnership portfolio was completed with a consortium of lenders, replacing index linked debt from M&G with c. £297m of fixed rate debt from Blackstone (£149m), KfW (£74m) and Caixa bank (£74m), maturing in December 2035;
· In May 2025, the Company extended the term of its Revolving Credit Facility (the 'RCF') with RBS International, Santander UK and Lloyds Bank Plc by two years to May 2027, reducing the commitment of the facility from £210 million to £150 million. The facility also achieved green loan status, reducing the margin from 1.90% to 1.85%; and
· Subsequent to 30 June 2025, the Company announced the signing of Phase Three of its long-term Strategic Partnership with GLIL, being the sale of a c.250MW portfolio of solar and BESS assets which had been 100% owned by the Company. The proceeds of the sale are c.£38m, of which £10m is deferred and contingent on project milestones being met, expected over the following twelve months.
At the Year end, the Group's total outstanding debt stood at £581m, with leverage at 45.7% of GAV (30 June 2024: 43% of GAV).
Underlying Earnings and Dividends
The Underlying Earnings for the Year, before repayments, were £95.3 million, or 16.0pps, and underlying cash available for distribution, post debt repayments of £33.5m or 5.6pps, were £61.8 million or 10.4pps. This has enabled the declaration of a fourth interim dividend of 2.30pps, bringing the total dividend for the Year to 8.90pps (Prior Year: 8.80pps). Once again, the total dividend for the Year has been covered by earnings. The yield on our shares - based on a share price of 83 pence on 17 October 2025 - is 10.72%. The Board has set a target dividend for the year ended 30 June 2026 of not less than 9.00pps, which extends our long record of progressive increases.
Valuation and Discount Rate
There has been considerable activity in the secondary market for renewable electricity projects; demand for solar portfolios remains strong, providing ample evidence to validate the asset values adopted by BSIF. Prices seen in the market over the past two years range between £1.20m/MW and £1.45m/MW and over 1GW of operational capacity has been brought to market in the Year.
Some of this activity involves BSIF as a seller of operating solar investments; by entering into its partnership with us, GLIL acquired a 50% stake in a selection of BSIF's solar assets in Phase Two of the Strategic Partnership, for a price which values the 112MW portfolio at circa £140 million. The financial assumptions underlying this transaction are consistent with those used by the Company in publishing its latest NAV at the time, being 129.75pps as at 30 June 2024. The portfolio discount rate is unchanged at 8% for the valuation and the enterprise value of the Company's operational portfolio is £1,094.5m, representing £1.11m/MW for the solar assets (30 June 2024: £1.24m/MW).
Inflation and interest rates
UK inflation has been significantly more stable in the Year than was the case in 2023/24; in June 2024 RPI inflation was running at 2.9%, but this rose to 4.4% for June 2025. On a CPI basis, the figures were 2.0% and 3.6%, respectively. Sterling interest rates, however, have been slower to fall. In August 2024 the Bank of England reduced Base Rate by 0.25%, to 5.00%. Following a series of cuts of 0.25%, Base Rate now stands at 4.0%, with the UK 5 year gilt rate now just over 4%.
Shareholders will appreciate that BSIF is in many ways a beneficiary of inflation. Our regulated revenues (ROCs and FiTs) are linked to RPI and in times of inflation these tend to rise faster than our operating costs. Much of our debt (74% at Year end) is on a fixed rate basis, interest having been set prior to 2022, but expectations of higher inflation increase the interest payable on our RCF and, in pushing up long bond rates, have the effect of raising the opportunity cost of capital and the price of any new finance we raise.
Power Prices
Spot electricity prices have softened considerably in the Year, but the Company's PPA strategy of fixing power prices for between one and three years in advance has again allowed the Company to benefit from power contracts which are insulating the Company from short term price weakness. The average weighted prices for these contracts were c. £119/MW for June 2025 (June 2024: £149/MW).
Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG")
This Year is the Company's third year of implementing and monitoring its ESG performance against its KPIs and further information is available on page 50. Our ESG reporting continues to be well received by Shareholders and industry analysts. We continue to develop our methodology as the Company strives to achieve best practice in this area.
Capital allocation and gearing
As noted earlier, our shares have continued to trade at a significant discount. We operated a programme to buy back £20 million of our own shares, which was completed in January 2025. While buying back shares at a discount was modestly accretive to our NAV per share, it was by no means clear to your Board that the buyback programme was having any significant effect on the discount, so once the initial capital allocation was exhausted it was not renewed.
Thanks largely to the proceeds received from sales of assets to our joint venture with GLIL, we have been able to reduce the balance on our RCF.
The Board
In October 2024 Glen Suarez joined the BSIF Board as a non-executive director.
Having been a director of BSIF since its formation in 2013, in last year's Annual Report I announced my intention to retire in 2025. I will step down from the Chair on 21 October 2025, when Michael Gibbons, CBE will assume that position. I have agreed to remain on the Board until not later than 30 November to assist with this transition. Michael has already shown himself to be a most effective Director of the Company for the past three years and his appointment as Chair comes as a result of an exercise conducted by our Nominations Committee (from which I recused myself).
The AGM
The Company's Annual General Meeting will take place on 11 December 2025 at Floor 2, Trafalgar Court, Les Banques, St Peter Port, Guernsey. Shareholders who are unable to be present in person are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the meeting.
Strategic considerations
There is a plausible future for BSIF in continuing to operate under its existing business model without the need for new capital, while continuing to pay a sector-leading dividend - the "business as usual" option. But Shareholders need to be aware that, in the absence of access to additional equity and the cheap debt we enjoyed for many years, continuing to operate with the current capital structure will necessitate the sale of development and prospectively operational assets. Such disposals will gradually starve the Company of growth opportunities and confine BSIF to its current position, namely the steady erosion of the Company's NAV, reflecting attrition of our capital base, with returns delivered only in the form of income.
Our market engagement process over the last few months makes it clear that there is widespread confidence in the future of solar power. What is also clear to your Board is that greater value is placed on a more integrated business that brings together BSIF's operating portfolio with its sizeable near-term development pipeline, coupled with the proven development and operating capability that exists within the Bluefield Group.
The Board is therefore considering other paths for the future of BSIF, including options that could see it move towards a more integrated business model which is better placed to capture the growth opportunity that eludes Shareholders in the Company's current form, but is more readily available in an integrated Bluefield model. On the basis of initial discussions with the owners of the Bluefield Group, it would appear to be a model which is attractive to both BSIF and its Investment Adviser. Integrating the Bluefield Group's 140 person platform, covering development activities through to operations, would create a UK-focused green Independent Power Producer, one that with the appropriate capital structure, corporate debt and dividend policies could be a largely self-funded growth model. This would enable the Company to build out its valuable and return-accretive development pipeline and deliver what the Board expects to be a materially higher total return to Shareholders than has been possible under the Company's current business model and dividend policy. This transition would require a re-examination of our capital structure and dividend policy as we examine the proportion of our net income that we would be able to distribute if we are to fund our pipeline from retained earnings and additional borrowings.
The Board and Investment Adviser will engage with Shareholders in the coming weeks on this potential strategy as they consider the merits of moving from the current structure to a more integrated and growth driven business model.
Management fee change
The Board has agreed a fee change with its Investment Adviser, Bluefield Partners LLP. The Investment Adviser has been paid 0.80% of the Company's NAV up to £750 million, a threshold which is now well above the Company current and expected future NAV. The revised IA fee agreement will be made up of 50% of the prevailing Net Asset Value and 50% on the Company's market capitalisation, creating a more balanced and, at the current share price, materially lower overall fee. The blended total fee is capped so that, in the event of the share price moving to a premium to NAV, it will not exceed the current arrangement of 0.80% of NAV. This change is effective from 1 October, 2025. At the time of writing the Company's NAV per share is 116.56 pence and the share price per share is 83 pence, which would result in a fee reduction of £792,767, or 14.39% over a twelve month period.
Outlook
Whatever the issues we are experiencing with debt and equity markets, the background to the sector in which we operate is an exciting one. We are witnessing a period of remarkable progress and success in the renewable electricity sector, notably in the solar power business which represents 93% of the capacity operated by your Company. Over the past decade the cost of silicon PV panels has fallen by nearly 90%, while the electricity output of each iteration of new panels continues to grow. Those being installed today are typically 24% efficient, as compared with about 17% when BSIF was launched in 2013. Recent developments suggest that further improved PV panels will soon become available, perhaps offering a conversion rate which approaches 30%. When BSIF was created, the high cost and relatively low output of the panels then available dictated that the economics of solar power were reliant on government subsidies - typically by way of Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) for 20 years - but plummeting equipment costs have allowed ROCs on new installations to be progressively reduced, prior to being phased out entirely from 2017.
The results of the UK Government's drive to boost renewable energy supplies are remarkable. In 2024, some 50% of the electricity supplied in the UK came from renewable sources of all kinds, including solar, wind, biomass and hydro. A decade ago, that number was approximately 2%, with some 75% of electricity coming from fossil fuels, primarily gas. Bluefield is proud to have been in the vanguard of what can justifiably be described as a revolution in the electricity supply industry, one which is by no means complete.
We observe with some concern the steady retreat by governments from their stated goals of reducing carbon dioxide output; despite their continuing support for renewable generation, the Conservative Party is the latest to join this bandwagon, promising to repeal the Climate Change Act 2008. Worse still, for those of us who recognise that supplies of fossil fuels are finite and understand that there is ample evidence to support the thesis that elevated levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere drive climate change, are the siren calls by politicians on both sides of the Atlantic; many now see short term electoral advantage in what might be called "renewables bashing", promising to ban new solar and wind installations, to renege on historic subsidies and to maximise fossil fuel extraction by drilling, mining and fracking. And, in the case of the US, even planning to dismantle its apparatus for measuring the levels of greenhouse gases, a move which is the equivalent of disconnecting your car's thermometer in the hope that it will stop the engine overheating. This change of sentiment seems particularly inappropriate at a time when solar power has reached levels of efficiency which make it the cheapest source of electric power, especially when coupled with battery storage, which is now driving a world-wide revolution in electricity generation.
Conclusion
Serving as a director of BSIF from its foundation over 12 years ago has been a great privilege and I take this opportunity to congratulate James Armstrong and his team at Bluefield Partners for all that they have achieved so far. Despite my long tenure on the Board, I am grateful to Shareholders for electing me to the Chair for the past 3 years and, in handing over to Michael Gibbons, I leave the Company in excellent hands. The BSIF Board and Bluefield Partners make a powerful team, well qualified to navigate the many challenges and opportunities which lie ahead, not the least of which is the determination of a capital structure which I believe will be better adapted to the financial markets of today, allowing BSIF both to grow and to continue to deliver sector leading performance over the long term.
John Scott
Chair
20 October 2025
Report of the Investment Adviser
Introduction from the Managing Partner of the Investment Adviser
The listed investment company sector has not improved in the past twelve months and it feels like there is an irrevocable shift in the growth prospects of the yield focused renewable generators. Whilst the Company continues to deliver successfully on the primary objective launched at IPO in July 2013 - namely the payment of a market leading, fully covered, dividend from the production of electricity from solar PV in the UK - it has been essential for the Investment Adviser and its Board to look at what options are available to maximise shareholder value (the 'Strategic Initiatives' announced in February). We are pleased to see the result of this is a bold reimagining of the Company as articulated in the Chair's Statement and supported by the Investment Adviser. We look forward to discussing them with the Shareholders.
The challenge faced by renewable investment companies, including BSIF, is well documented. The Company's shares have been at a discount to NAV for over three years, shutting the door to equity markets. With surplus capital being used to pay dividends, it makes it growth unachievable, impeding the ability to capitalise on its key strengths such as its large proprietary development pipeline. Without the ability to raise equity or re-direct material levels of earnings into a large scale programme of new build investments (its pipeline is circa 1.4GW) the Company is inherently in long term run off. Notwithstanding these challenges the Company has had a very successful period since June 2024: we have delivered Phase Three of the strategic partnership with GLIL and delivered back c.£92m to BSIF; we have acquired the minority shareholdings in a selected group of development assets already majority owned by the Company; we have sold some development assets delivering a 6 x return on investment; and we have refinanced the RCF.
However, it is our view that 'business as usual' is no longer ambitious enough for the Company's Shareholders. In February the Board announced it was evaluating all options to see how to maximise shareholder value, with the support of its advisers, including Bluefield Partners. Part of the initial evaluation was to look at the core strengths of the Company to see whether these would highlight the best path for shareholder value.
The first core strength is the Bluefield Group, the 140 person-strong, end to end platform, that provides development through to operational services for the Company, essentially creating, in its current form, an externally managed Independent Power Producer. The Bluefield Group is the engine for value growth, protection and enhancement. Second, the Company's large co-owned proprietary pipeline provides the opportunity for strategic and scaled growth through the Bluefield Group's development and construction funding capabilities. There are other core strengths and reasons for the unparalleled long term performance of the Company - its debt strategy, its highly successful power sales approach and its capital discipline - but the Bluefield Group and the development pipeline are key differentiators in offering the Company's Shareholders the ability to be presented with a much more rewarding future.
It has become evident that internalisation of the Bluefield Group platform and the creation of an Independent Power Producer (IPP) is attractive to private capital and should be explored further. It also has the potential to offer an attractive and ambitious future to existing and new Shareholders on the public markets. It reimagines the Company as a growth-orientated vehicle that can maximise the value of its large development pipeline supported by Bluefield's platform. It would require an evaluation of the purpose the Company - balancing growth, debt and income - but has the ability to be a self-funding model that could deliver higher total returns for Shareholders than is currently available. All of this requires the consultation and the support of the Shareholders and, to be clear, all options remain on the table; however it offers a 'built in' long term growth opportunity for Shareholders to consider as a compelling solution to the challenges the sector faces today.
I am under no illusion of the boldness of this vision. It is made with the conviction that the solid foundations we have built since leading the listing of BSIF in 2013 provide the ideal launchpad for making this transformation and turning the Company from one constrained and frustrated by sector challenges to one empowered to embrace the changes of the wider macro- economic environment and to continue to thrive in the decade to come.
Our sole aim is to work with the Board to ensure that BSIF delivers highest possible total return for Shareholders and, if we were to become an internalised IPP, we feel incredibly optimistic about the future.
James Armstrong
Managing Partner, Bluefield Partners LLP
1. About Bluefield Partners LLP ('Bluefield')
Bluefield was established in 2009 and is an investment adviser to companies and funds investing in renewable energy infrastructure. Our team has a proven record in the selection, acquisition and supervision of large scale energy and infrastructure assets in the UK and Europe. The Bluefield team has been involved in over £6.3 billion renewable funds and/or transactions in both the UK and Europe, including over £1.9 billion in the UK since December 2011.
Bluefield was appointed Investment Adviser to the Company in June 2013. Based in its London office, Bluefield's partners are supported by a dedicated and highly experienced team of investment, operations, finance, legal and portfolio executives. As Investment Adviser, Bluefield takes responsibility for selection, origination and execution of investment opportunities for the Company, having executed over 200 individual SPV acquisitions on behalf of BSIF and European vehicles.
2. Portfolio: Acquisitions, Performance and Value Enhancement
Portfolio Overview
As at 30 June 2025, the Company owned an operational solar portfolio of 122 photovoltaic ("PV") plants (consisting of 80 large scale sites, 39 micro sites and 3 roof top sites), 6 wind farms and 109 small scale UK onshore wind turbines, all 100% owned by the Company, with a total capacity of 793.2MW (30 June 2024: 812.6MW). During the Year, Phase Two of the strategic partnership with GLIL was completed, being the sale of a 50% stake in a c.112MW portfolio of UK solar PV assets owned by BSIF.
Following the Phase Two transaction, the Company now has a 25% stake (30 June 2024: 9%) in a 358.5MW (30 June 2024: 246.6MW) joint venture portfolio of UK solar assets in partnership with GLIL Infrastructure.
The total portfolio capacity, comprising both the 100% owned portfolio and BSIF's share in the joint venture partnership, was 882.9MW as at 30 June 2025, composed of 824.6MW of solar and 58.3MW of onshore wind.
During the Year, the combined solar and wind portfolio, on the 100% owned assets, generated an aggregated total of 797.9GWh (Prior Year: 810.6GWh), representing a generation yield of 1,006MWh/MW (Prior Year: 997.6MWh/MW).
Investment Approach, Acquisitions, and Divestments in the Year
The Company has taken a disciplined approach to the deployment of capital since listing, investing only when there are projects of suitable quality at attractive returns to complement the existing portfolio. Rigorous adherence to restrained capital deployment inevitably means there will be periods where acquisition activity falls, even when sector activity appears in contrast, but this controlled approach is beneficial in driving long term, sustainable growth for Shareholders, as evidenced by the Company's record of sector leading returns since listing over a decade ago. In the Year, due to limited capital availability, the
Company has focused on paying down a proportion of the RCF, utilising funds from the sale of assets to the JV with GLIL and recycling of capital from its development pipeline. The Company has also continued with investment in a select number of construction projects.
Portfolio Performance and Optimisation
Solar PV Performance - Wholly owned portfolio
In the Year, irradiation levels were 6.8% higher than the Company's forecasts and 9.9% higher than the Prior Year, whilst generation at 663.9GWh, was 1.9% higher than forecast. During the Year, generation yield was 903MWh per MW of installed capacity, 5.1% higher than recorded in the Prior Year.
Table 1. Summary of Solar Portfolio Performance for Full Year 2024/25:
|
Year |
Year |
Delta to |
Prior Year |
Delta Year to |
|
|
|
Forecast (% |
|
Prior Year Actual (% |
|
Actual |
Forecast |
change) |
Actual |
change) |
Portfolio Total Installed |
735 |
- |
- |
754 |
-2.5% |
Capacity (MW) |
|||||
Weighted Average |
1,267 |
1,186 |
6.8% |
1,136 |
11.5% |
Irradiation (MWh/m2)1,2 |
|||||
Total Generation (MWh)4 |
663,909 |
651,230 |
1.9% |
647,920 |
2.5% |
Generation Yield |
903 |
886 |
1.9% |
859 |
5.1% |
(MWh/MW) |
|||||
Average Total Unit Price |
202 |
200 |
0.8% |
247 |
-18.2% |
(£/MWh)3 |
|||||
Total Revenue (£'000) 3 |
133,902 |
130,285 |
2.8% |
159,775 |
-16.2% |
Total Revenue (£'000/MW) 3 |
182 |
177 |
2.8% |
212 |
-14.0% |
1. Periods of irradiation where irradiance exceeds the minimum level required for generation to occur (50W/m2)
2. Excluding grid outages and significant periods of constraint or curtailment that were outside the Company's control (for example, DNO-led outages and curtailments)
3. Revenue includes all income associated with the sale of power and all subsidy payments. It excludes liquidated damages, insurance claims amounts, mutualisation rebates, and business rate rebates. ROC recycle revenue is included assuming a 10% recycle rate for both actual and forecast revenue
4. Excludes the Strategic Partnership with GLIL
Total revenue for the Year was £133.9 million, 2.8% higher than forecast. The Average Total Power Price was 0.8% above forecast at £202/MW, but 18.2% lower per MW than the Prior Year, as historically high PPA agreements which commenced from 2022 onwards came to an end.
Solar PV Optimisation & Enhancement Activity
The Investment Adviser is taking proactive steps to mitigate risks to both the short-term and long-term operational performance of the portfolio. This is achieved through a rolling data-led capital investment programme to address key risks to operational performance.
Large central inverter and HV equipment revamping projects commenced during the Year, with key projects completed by the end of the Year. These projects are expected to further de-risk the portfolio and improve portfolio performance both short and long term. Further central inverter revamping projects are planned for the winter months of FY25/26.
As at 30 June 2025, 392MW of the PV portfolio (being 61% of the solar PV portfolio) have leases that allow for terms beyond 30 years. The Investment Adviser continues to pursue lease extensions on the remaining assets in the portfolio.
GLIL Partnership Portfolio
Further to the successful completion of Phase Two of the strategic partnership with GLIL, the total UK operational solar portfolio capacity increased to 358.7MW. During the Year, the portfolio's generation was 5.6% above forecast, largely due to higher than expected irradiation (3.1% above forecast).
Onshore Wind Performance
As at 30 June 2025, the Company held an operational onshore wind portfolio of 135 installations, comprising 109 small scale turbines (55-250kW) and 26 larger turbines (850kW-2,300kW), with an aggregated capacity of 58.4MW.
During the Year, the wind portfolio generated 134 GWh, 18.8 % below forecast. This was largely due to significantly lower than expected wind speeds throughout the Year, combined with the several turbine outages resulting in extended downtimes across the portfolio.
Total revenue during the Year was £25.7 million (Prior Year: £30.3 million), with an average revenue per MWh of £192. Revenues achieved were 14.2 % below forecast, despite the average revenue per MWh being 5.7% above forecast.
Table 2. Aggregated Wind Portfolio Performance for the Year
|
|
|||||
|
|
Year |
Year |
Delta to Forecast |
Prior Year |
Delta to Prior Year Actual |
|
|
Actual |
Forecast |
(% change) |
Actual |
(% change) |
|
Portfolio Total Installed Capacity (MW) |
58.4 |
n/a |
n/a |
58.4
|
0.0% |
|
||||||
|
Total Generation (MWh) |
134,065 |
165,116 |
-18.8% |
162,682 |
-17.6% |
|
Generation Yield (MWh/MW) |
2,300 |
2,832 |
-18.8% |
2,786 |
-17.5%
|
|
||||||
|
Average Total Unit Price (£/MWh)1 |
£192 |
£182 |
5.4% |
£186 |
3.2% |
|
|
|||||
|
Total Revenue (£,000) 1 |
25,726.01 |
29,972.83 |
-14.2% |
30,254.30 |
-15.0% |
1. Revenue includes all income associated with the sale of power and all subsidy payments. It excludes liquidated damages, insurance claims amounts, mutualisation rebates, and business rate rebates. ROC recycle revenue is included assuming a 10% recycle rate for both actual and forecast revenue
|
Onshore Wind Optimisation & Enhancement Activity
In Northern Ireland, 17 of the 29 small-scale turbines were identified for repowering with replacement EWT 250kW turbines. These increase both efficiency and output, whilst maintaining their respective NIRO accreditation status.
As at 30 June 2025 14 turbines have been repowered and returned to operation, with the remaining three turbines having received planning approval for repowering, with a new 25-year term.
General Portfolio
OFGEM Audits
As part of the industry-wide audits of FiT and RO-accredited generating assets, the Asset Manager has been working closely with the regulator on certain assets that have been selected, at random, for audit. All closed OFGEM audits have had relevant enquiries satisfied, with the respective assets' accreditation being maintained.
Health & Safety Activities & Cyber Security
Please refer to the Environmental, Social and Governance report for further information on health & safety activities and cyber security.
3. Power Purchase Agreements
The Company actively monitors power market conditions, ensuring that contract renewals are spread evenly through any 12-month period, with competitive tender processes on both fixed and floating price options run for PPA renewals in the 3 months prior to the commencement of a new fixing period. Flexibility within the Company's capital structure enables PPA counterparties to be selected on a competitive basis and not influenced by lenders requiring long-term contracts with particular offtakers. This means the programme of achieving value and diversification from contracting with multiple counterparties is executed for the benefit of Shareholders.
As at 30 June 2025, the average contractual term of the fixed-price PPAs across the portfolio is 27.9 months without adjusting for capacity (Prior Year: 32.5 months) and the Company has a price confidence level of c. 41% to December 2025 and c. 23% to June 2026 (on a capacity basis), representing the percentage of the Company's portfolio that already has fixed prices in place and therefore no exposure to power market fluctuations. Looking ahead, the strategy has also secured power fixes, and thus revenue certainty, at levels that are generally in excess of the latest forecaster expectations.
Table 3. PPA Fixed Power Prices (average for fixes completed vs blended average forecaster prices)
Metric |
Jul-25 |
Jan-26 |
Jul-26 |
Jan-27 |
BSIF Portfolio Weighted Average Contract Price (£/MWh) |
95.2 |
99.1 |
68.1 |
76.4 |
Capacity with Fixed PPA price |
522MW |
323MW |
184MW |
112MW |
% of BSIF total capacity under PPA Fixed Power Price contract |
66% |
41% |
23% |
14% |
Blended Average of forecasters' nominal terms power prices per 30 June 2025 valuation (£/MWh) |
77.4 |
78.5 |
71.0 |
72.0 |
Footnote: data excludes assets which are part of the Strategic Partnership with GLIL; values shown are as at the beginning of the month
The Investment Adviser believes its PPA policy is the best strategy for Shareholders, who are looking for stable revenues and forecastable, sustainable dividends with high visibility of revenues on a rolling multiyear basis.
4. Proprietary Pipeline
The Company has continued to implement its new build strategy across solar development and construction to ensure that the Company has the optionality to build its market share amongst UK solar power producers. As part of this approach, the Company had co-development agreements in place since 2019 to fund the development of new sites. The Company also expanded its strategy to include battery, which will enable the diversification of the Company's revenues and allow it to monetise the expected increases in volatility of power prices in the future. The first battery project is progressing well through construction.
This focus on development activities has enabled the Company to identify a significant pipeline of assets which can be built over the next five years. As these projects progress, the Company is working with selected construction contractors to ensure that projects are designed and built to a high specification for long term performance.
The new build strategy has delivered well on its objectives thus far; three developments, with a cumulative capacity of 102MW, have been constructed and are fully operational (Yelvertoft, Mauxhall Farm and Romsey X), while the development pipeline now stands at over 1.4GW. Nine sites have achieved CfDs across AR4, AR5 and AR6, representing potentially over 450MW of installed capacity.
The following sections provide a more detailed update on both our construction and development programmes.
Construction Programme
As at 30 June 2025, 102MW of solar PV projects had been energised in the Year and had passed provisional acceptance tests. Performance will be monitored closely to ensure it is in line with the contracts over the two year warranty period. These projects are Yelvertoft Solar Farm (a 48.4MW solar PV park in Northamptonshire) and Mauxhall Farm Energy Park (a 44.5MW solar PV project in North East Lincolnshire) and Romsey X (a 9.2MW solar PV extension to Romsey solar farm in Hampshire). Mauxhall Farm is planned to be a co-located project and construction of a 25MW battery energy storage scheme is underway.
As at the end of the Year, the Company had a pipeline of future solar assets with a capacity of 633MW and battery storage assets with 430MW capacity that are fully consented and are in pre-construction. The projects have connection dates between 2025 and 2035.
Of these, the Company is actively exploring EPC contracts for seven projects (c. 360MW capacity in total), which have CfDs under AR4, AR5 and AR6. EPC agreements for the Company's new build projects are expected to be fixed price contracts comparable to Yelvertoft and Mauxhall Farm and will require contractors to provide full procurement activity and to supply all materials. The Investment Adviser completes a full assessment of each contractor's procurement and supply chain management processes to ensure compliance with the Company's ESG policies and standards.
Development Programme
The Investment Adviser has been pursuing its development strategy since 2019 to enable the Company to continue to be a key player in the UK renewable energy market. Since this time, a portfolio of over 1GW of solar and 1.5GW of batteries has been funded across 31 development projects. The Company has an investment limit in pre-construction development stage activities, restricted to 5% of gross assets; less than 3% is currently committed.
Currently, no value is attributed to projects without planning consent. Once developments receive planning consent and move from the development stage to pre-construction, the Investment Adviser believes it is appropriate to reflect this change in the Company's valuation. At this point in their lifecycle, the projects will have received all the necessary planning consents, land rights and valid grid connection offers and so have discernible value beyond the direct costs of development.
The pipeline status and valuation as at the year-end is summarised in the graphic below. In the Year, 4 projects received planning consent, with a cumulative capacity of 92MW solar and 140MW battery storage. Post Year end, 2 projects received planning consent, with a cumulative capacity of 105MW solar PV and 40MW battery storage.
Post Year end, the opportunity was taken to extend an existing project in our pipeline with the addition of 100MW solar and 800MW battery as it was believed to be located in a strategic position on the electricity network. In addition, funding has commenced for the development of a 125MW solar and 500MW battery site in Hertfordshire.
|
The total generation and revenue earned in the Year by the Company's wholly owned portfolio, split by subsidy regime, is outlined below:
Subsidy Regime |
Generation (MWh) |
PPA Revenue (£m) |
Regulated Revenue (£m) |
FiT |
60,862 |
4.8 |
13.1 |
4 ROC |
18,959 |
1.7 |
4.9 |
2.0 ROC |
23,138 |
1.6 |
3.4 |
1.6 ROC |
116,309 |
10.7 |
13.7 |
1.4 ROC |
295,244 |
34.4 |
29.4 |
1.3 ROC |
36,947 |
3.1 |
3.6 |
1.2 ROC |
73,728 |
8.9 |
6.8 |
1 ROC |
37,939 |
2.3 |
2.8 |
0.9 ROC |
65,414 |
5.1 |
4.3 |
Subsidy - free |
69,433 |
4.6 |
0.3 |
Total |
797,973 |
77.2 |
82.3 |
The Company includes ROC recycle assumptions within its long term forecasts and applies a market based approach on recognition within any current financial year, including prudent estimates within its accounts where there is clear evidence that participants are attaching value to ROC recycle for the year.
The key drivers behind the changes in Underlying Earnings between this Year and the Prior Year are the combined effects of lower PPA pricing, lower than expected wind speeds, increased costs and debt interest and repayments.
Underlying Portfolio Earnings
|
Year |
Prior Year |
Year to |
|
|
30-Jun-25 |
30-Jun-24 |
30-Jun-23 |
|
|
|
(£m) |
(£m) |
(£m) |
|
|
|
Portfolio Revenue |
161.8 |
183.8 |
184.4 |
|
|
Liquidated damages and Other Revenue1 |
3.5 |
12.6 |
5.4 |
|
|
Earnings from JV |
9.9 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Portfolio Income |
175.2 |
196.4 |
189.8 |
|
|
Portfolio Costs |
-36.7 |
-38.2 |
-36.3 |
|
|
Fund Operating Costs2,3 |
-8.2 |
-8.6 |
-8.7 |
|
|
Total Operating Profit (EBITDA) |
130.3 |
149.6 |
144.8 |
|
|
Project Finance Interest Costs |
-12.5 |
-12.7 |
-13.6 |
|
|
Group Corporation Tax |
-9.6 |
-13.9 |
-7.0 |
|
|
Electricity Generator Levy |
-2.9 |
-16.2 |
-9.7 |
|
|
Group Debt Costs4 |
-10.0 |
-12.2 |
-6.1 |
|
|
Underlying Earnings |
95.3 |
94.6 |
108.4 |
|
|
Group Debt Repayments |
-33.5 |
-30.1 |
-18.3 |
|
|
Underlying Earnings available for distribution |
61.8 |
64.5 |
90.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brought forward reserves |
20.3 |
58.4 |
20.9 |
|
|
Earnings from Disposals |
92.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Repayment of RCF |
-50.5 |
-10.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Share Buybacks |
-10.6 |
-9.4 |
0.0 |
|
|
Acquisitions and CapEx |
-21.7 |
-30.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Total funds available for distribution |
91.3 |
73.4 |
111.0 |
|
|
Target distribution |
52.7 |
53.1 |
51.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Declared/Actual Distribution |
52.7 |
53.1 |
52.6 |
|
|
Underlying Earnings carried forward |
38.5 |
20.3 |
58.4 |
|
|
|
|
1 Other Revenue includes ROC mutualisation, ROC recycle late payment, insurance proceeds, O&M settlement agreements and rebates received.
2 Includes the Investment Adviser fees and other fees at Company and BR1 level.
3 Excludes one-off transaction costs and the release of up-front fees related to the Company's debt facilities
4 RCF Interest and commitment fees
The table below presents the underlying earnings on a per share basis.
|
Year |
Prior Year |
Year to |
30-Jun-25 |
30-Jun-24 |
30-Jun-23 |
|
(£m) |
(£m) |
(£m) |
|
Actual Distribution |
52.7 |
53.1 |
52.6 |
Total funds available for distribution (including reserves) |
91.3 |
73.4 |
111.0 |
Average Number of shares in Year* |
594,651,711 |
609,849,113 |
611,452,217 |
Target Dividend (pps) |
8.90 |
8.80 |
8.40 |
Total funds available for distribution (pps) |
15.41 |
12.00 |
18.13 |
Total Dividend Declared & Paid (pps) |
8.90 |
8.80 |
8.60 |
Reserves carried forward |
6.51 |
3.40 |
9.53 |
(pps) ** |
* Average number of shares is calculated based on the weighted average shares in the Year.
** Reserves carried forward are based on the shares in issue at the point of Annual Accounts publication (being 592m shares for 30 June 2025, 597m shares for 30 June 2024 and 611m shares for 30 June 2023).
6. NAV and Valuation of the Portfolio
The Investment Adviser is responsible for advising the Board in determining the Directors' Valuation and, when required, carrying out the fair market valuation of the Company's investments.
Valuations are carried out on a quarterly basis at 30 September, 31 December, 31 March and 30 June each year, with the Company committed to conducting independent reviews as and when the Board believes it benefits Shareholders.
As the portfolio comprises only non-market traded investments, the Investment Adviser has adopted valuation guidelines based upon the IPEV Valuation Guidelines published by the BVCA (the British Venture Capital Association). The application of these guidelines is considered consistent with the requirements of compliance with IFRS 9 and IFRS 13.
Following consultation with the Investment Adviser, the Directors' Valuation adopted for the portfolio as at 30 June 2025 was £820.3 million (30 June 2024: £965.5 million).
Valuation Component (£m) |
June 2025 |
June 2024 |
June 2023 |
DCF Enterprise Value of Portfolio |
971.5 |
1,100.0 |
1,195.2 |
DCF Enterprise Value of JV Portfolio |
123.1 |
36.5 |
- |
Consented development/construction and repowering projects |
36.2 |
110.3 |
67.5 |
Deduction of Project Co debt |
-446.1 |
-423.2 |
-430.8 |
Project Net Current Assets |
135.6 |
141.9 |
186.5 |
Directors' Valuation |
820.3 |
965.5 |
1,018.4 |
Portfolio Size (MW) |
882.9 |
834.0 |
812.6 |
Discounting Methodology
The Directors' Valuation is based on the discounting of post-tax, projected cash flows of each investment, based on the Company's current capital structure, with the result then benchmarked against comparable market multiples, if relevant. The discount rate applied on the project cash flows is the weighted average discount rate. In addition, the Board continues to adopt the approach under the 'willing buyer/willing seller' methodology, that the valuation of the Company's portfolio be appropriately benchmarked to pricing against comparable portfolio transactions.
Key factors behind the valuation
There have been several factors that have been considered in the Investment Adviser's recommendation to the Directors' Valuation (and which are quantified in the NAV movement chart on page 29):
(i) Despite interest rates falling during 2025, the Directors' portfolio discount rate has been maintained at 8.00% (June 2024: 8.00%). The discount rate remains a key area of consideration but with gilt yields remaining at an elevated level since the interim valuation, it has been concluded that there are insufficient market signals to warrant a change in the cost of equity at this point.
(ii) Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin for the period 2026-2030 have been updated to reflect the latest available forecast and checked against pricing achieved in the latest round of tendering.
(iii) Inclusion of the latest forecasters' power price curves as at 30 June 2025 has resulted in a decrease in the valuation as there have been decreases in projected electricity prices of up to 10% in the period from 2026 to 2045. Further information regarding power prices is included in section 3 of this report.
(iv) Yelvertoft Farm and Mauxhall Farm solar projects have been introduced to the valuation on a discounted cashflow basis rather than being held at cost, as they had been during their first year of operations and during their construction.
(v) Working capital has declined in the Year, reflecting the payment of dividends through the Year, the execution of the Company's share buyback programme, the amortisation of the Company's portfolio-level debt, the partial repayment of the Revolving Credit Facility.
(vi) The Investment Advisor has identified a systemic defect with a particular model of central inverters used in approximately 4.5% of the portfolio. The expected cost of a remediation plan to replace the affected inverters has been included in the valuation.
By reflecting the core factors above within the Directors' Valuation for 30 June 2025, the enterprise value of the operational portfolio is £1,094.5 million (June 2024: £1,136.5 million), representing an effective price for the solar component of £1.11m/MW (June 2024: £1.24m/MW). These metrics sit within the pricing range of precedent market transactions, and the 'willing buyer-willing seller' methodology upon which the Directors' Valuation is based.
There have been no material changes to assumptions regarding the future performance of the portfolio when compared to the Directors' Valuation of 30 June 2024.
The assumptions set out in this section remain subject to continuous review by the Investment Adviser and the Board.
Power Prices
As has been the case for some years, a blend of the forecasts from three leading consultants is used within the latest Directors' Valuation, as shown in the graph below. This is based on the latest forecasts available as at 30 June 2025.
The curves used in the 30 June 2025 Directors' Valuation reflect the following key updates:
1. Forward electricity prices from 2026 to the mid-2030s broadly trending lower, driven by expectations for reduced demand and strong renewables growth as a result of the ambitions set out in the Government's strategy for Clean Power 2030;
2. Beyond the mid-2030s, power prices have decreased further in response to expectations of increased renewables capacity on the system.
Movements in NAV
The Company's NAV decreased to £690.1m (116.56pps) in June 2025 from £781.6m (129.75pps) in June 2024. The movement in NAV was driven primarily by the following factors:
Power Prices
This is a Combination of power curve impact of -1.6pps and PPA impact of +0.5pps. The power curves available from the Company's three leading independent power forecasters as at 30 June 2025 report electricity prices falling slightly, particularly in the period 2027 to 2030. The decline is attributed to a combination of factors, including downward revisions to power demand expectations and stronger renewable capacity growth as the market seeks to achieve Clean Power 2030.
REGO Update
REGO prices were updated for the latest annual REGO curve. The forecast has dropped significantly during the past year; for the period 2025 to 2030, the average price is now £1.30/MWh, compared to a circa £4/MWh for the same period in the June NAV.
Actual Generation vs Forecast
Whilst solar revenue in the Year was 2.8% above forecast, the wind portfolio generated 18.8% below forecast, resulting in wind revenue of 14.2% below forecast, due to significantly lower than expected wind speeds throughout the Year, combined with the several turbine outages resulting in extended downtimes across the portfolio. This resulted in the total portfolio revenue being £600k below forecast (-0.1pps).
Impact of Grid Outages
This reflects the grid outages and curtailments outside of the Company's control and the impact on lost revenue.
Dividends Paid
Total dividends paid in the Year amounted to £52.3m (8.80pps).
Share Buybacks
On 15 February 2024, the Company announced a share buyback programme in which it had allocated £20 million to purchase its own shares post closed period. During the year ended 30 June 2025, 10,294,184 (2024: 9,078,000) Treasury shares were purchased at an average price of 103.28 (2024: 103.19) pence per share. The total amount spent on the buyback during the year was £10,632,163.
Annual Indexation of OpEx Costs
This is an update following the annual review of the cost base over the life of the assets, which also accounts for actual inflation.
Working Capital Movements
This movement reflects the change of the calculation date of cash flows from June 2024 to June 2025, along with tax, degradation, debt, and working capital adjustments.
Other Movements
This movement reflects the £7.2m reduction in NAV since the announcement of the unaudited 30 June 2025 NAV on 19 August 2025. The reduction is predominantly due to a systemic defect with a particular model of central inverters used in approximately 4.5% of the portfolio, identified by the Investment Adviser and highlighted in the unaudited 31 March 2025 NAV announcement.
Reconciliation of Directors' Valuation to Balance sheet
|
Balance at Year End |
||
Category |
30 June 2025 (£m) |
30 June 2024 (£m) |
30 June 2023 (£m) |
Directors' Valuation |
820.3 |
965.5 |
1,018.4 |
Portfolio Holding Company Working Capital |
4.7 |
(1.5) |
(12.5) |
Portfolio Holding Company Debt |
(134.9) |
(184.0) |
(153.0) |
Financial Assets at Fair Value per Balance sheet |
690.1 |
780.0 |
852.9 |
Gross Asset Value |
1,271.1 |
1,388.7 |
1,438.0 |
Gearing (% GAV*) |
45.7% |
43% |
41% |
* GAV is the Financial Assets, as at 30 June 2025, at NAV of £690.1 plus RCF of £134.9m and third party portfolio debt of £446.1m (giving total debt of £581.0m).
Enterprise Valuation sensitivities
Valuation sensitivities are set out in tabular form in Note 8 of the financial statements.
7. Financing
Debt Strategy
Since its IPO, the Company has focused on a simple and defensive approach to debt. This means having debt agreements that have, primarily, fixed interest rates and are amortising. Debt is split into (1) long-term asset-level debt, and (2) a revolving credit facility at fund-level for short-term funding. Debt in the portfolio is generally not subject to stringent lender requirements on PPAs, allowing the Company to take advantage of more competitive PPA pricing.
The Company's weighted average cost of long-term debt at 30 June 2025 is 3.95% (30 June 2024: 3.53%) and is largely locked in via fixed interest rates. Whilst the Company has some index-linked debt, it also has significant levels of RPI linked revenues, leaving the Company a net beneficiary of inflation.
The revolving credit facility, detailed below, is the only short term floating-rate debt instrument in the portfolio and represents 23% of the total debt balance. 74% of asset-level debt has a fixed interest rate. 23% of principal for long-term debt is inflation-linked.
Revolving Credit Facility
In May 2025, the Company extended the term of its Revolving Credit Facility (the 'RCF') with RBS International, Santander UK and Lloyds Bank Plc by two years to May 2027, reducing the commitment of the facility from £210 million to £150 million. The margin for the facility is 1.85%, a reduction from the previous margin of 1.90%.
The Company remains focused on reducing its short term debt, whilst managing its development pipeline, with the reduced size of the committed extended RCF reflecting this. The Company has repaid £50.5 million of the RCF in the Year to 30 June 2025, reducing the drawn balance to £134.9 million (30 June 2024: £184 million). The RCF also has an uncommitted accordion feature allowing it to be increased by up to a further £30 million.
The Company is also pleased to report that the amended and restated RCF has achieved Green Loan status, which introduces enhanced monitoring and reporting obligations in line with the Company's Green Financing Framework.
External Debt
Excluding the Company's RCF, outstanding loans from third-party lenders as at 30 June 2025 totals to £446.1 million, with each loan secured against a portfolio of assets and fully amortising within the life of the respective asset's subsidies. The average interest cost, excluding the Company's RCF, across the external debt facilities in the table below, is 3.95%.
|
|
|
|
|
Syndicate - Fund RCF |
134.9 |
May-27 |
0% |
5.49% |
Bayern LB - Project Finance |
5.2 |
Sep-29 |
100% |
5.50% |
Syndicate - Project Finance |
60.0 |
Dec-33 |
100% |
3.50% |
Aviva (fixed) - Project Finance |
76.7 |
Sep-34 |
100% |
2.88% |
Aviva (index-linked) - Project Finance |
62.9 |
Sep-34 |
100% |
3.20% |
Macquarie (fixed) - Project Finance |
6.5 |
Mar-35 |
100% |
4.60% |
Macquarie (indexed-linked) - Project Finance |
18.7 |
Mar-35 |
100% |
4.20% |
Gravis (index-linked) - Project Finance |
33.9 |
Jun-35 |
100% |
6.48% |
NatWest - Project Finance |
109.8 |
Dec-39 |
85% |
3.18% |
Strategic Partnership Portfolio |
72.4 |
Dec-35 |
100% |
5.50% |
Total/Wtd Avg |
581.0 |
|
74% |
4.30% |
Total/Wtd Avg excl. RCF |
446.1 |
|
96% |
3.95% |
Note: Index-linked debt treated as fixed for the purposes of this table as proportion fixed represents interest rate risk only
Strategic Partnership Portfolio
In January 2025 the re-financing of the strategic partnership portfolio was completed, replacing c.£214m of index linked debt from M&G with c.£297m of fixed rate debt from Blackstone (£149m), KfW (£74m) and Caixa bank (£74m), maturing in December 2035. The re-financing released c.£21m of cash proceeds to BSIF, whilst its share of the balance of underlying long-term debt now stands at c.£72.4m. This results in an overall increase in the total debt of the Company to £581m at the year end with the weighted average debt cost of long-term debt to 3.95%.
GAV Leverage
The Group's total outstanding debt as at 30 June 2025 was £581 million (30 June 2024: £584 million) and its leverage stands at 45.7% of GAV (30 June 2024: 43%).
8. Market Developments
UK renewable generation capacity and deployment
Latest Government data showed that UK solar PV capacity stood at c.19GW across c.1.8 million installations. Of this amount, c.7GW (37% of the total solar capacity in the UK) and c.5GW (27%) is accredited under the RO and FiT schemes, respectively, c.6GW (30%) is unaccredited and less than 6% is under the CfD scheme. Each of the onshore and offshore wind installed capacity stands at around 16GW. The UK has over 5GW of operational battery storage capacity, according to data from energy association RenewableUK.
The UK's total renewable generation capacity is projected to continue to grow over the coming years as the Government strives to meet its Clean Power 2030 targets. Deployment is expected to be supported by several policy initiatives, including the CfD scheme and various significant planning and grid reforms already underway.
The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines the Government's roadmap to achieving a clean power system by 2030, based on expert independent advice from the National Energy System Operator. The plan focuses on accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, investing in new innovative flexible technologies and policy and legislation reforms to support the energy transition.
Secondary market transactions, development and construction activity
Transactional activity in the UK renewables market has increased in recent months, driven by ambitious decarbonisation targets and increasing preferences by customers for clean energy. Several infrastructure funds have continued to complete capital recycling via asset disposal programmes to demonstrate value and support deleveraging efforts.
Development activity has been noticeable in the battery storage area, with developers seeking to provide solutions to help manage the grid as larger quantities of intermittent renewables are added to the system. Solar development activity has been somewhat slower, primarily due to grid constraints.
Some construction activity has been observed in the UK solar and battery storage area, although this is against a backdrop of supply chain challenges and elevated development costs. Converting the UK's significant development pipeline into operational solar and storage projects over the next five years will require developers to adopt innovative approaches to overcome challenges surrounding high construction costs, grid connection lead times and limited access to new capital.
With 735MW of fully owned operational solar capacity, the Company maintains a strong position within the UK solar market, owning c.4.4% of the UK's utility-scale solar PV capacity.
9. Regulatory Environment
The regulatory environment remains under the spotlight as the Government seeks to support renewable energy deployment as part of its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan through particularly tough macroeconomic conditions. Key themes are outlined below.
Update on Contracts for Differences (CfD)
In September 2024, the AR6 results were published. A total of 9.6GW of renewable energy projects were successful, of which 3.3GW solar projects won contracts (or 34% of total awarded capacity), onshore wind at 990MW (10%), offshore wind (fixed-bottom) at 4.9GW (51%) and floating offshore at 400MW (4%). The Government revised the overall AR6 budget to £1.6 billion, up by £0.5 billion from the previous level amid calls from industry to help meet renewable targets. Most of the budget uplift went to offshore wind, while established technologies including solar and onshore wind rose by £65 million to £185 million. The AR6 administrative strike prices across all technologies rose from the previous round, with solar and wind up by 30% and 21% respectively, at £61/MWh and £64/MWh, respectively (in 2012 prices).
In July 2025, the Government released its response to the consultation on further reforms to the CfD scheme for AR7 which ran from February - March 2025. Several positive reforms were announced, including CfD contract tenor extension from 15 years to 20 years for solar and other key technologies. This marks a significant positive step forward for the renewables sector. The Government is also committed to increasing the length of the target commissioning window for solar new build projects from 3 months to 12 months, providing developers with greater flexibility to adapt to unexpected construction related events and aligning solar with other "Pot 1" technologies.
The application round for AR7 opened on 7 August 2025 and closed on 27 August 2025. The Government is due to publish its budget notice after reviewing all qualifying applications and before the auction, scheduled later in the year.
The movement in AR7 administrative strike prices compared with AR6 was mixed across technologies. The ASP for solar (Pot 1) was £54/MWh (in 2012 prices), down from £61/MWh in AR6 (or c. 11%) driven in part by longer tenors and lower cost assumptions, while onshore wind (Pot 1) was up by just c. 3% at £66/MWh driven in part by lower onshore wind load factor assumptions.
Electricity Generator Levy
The Electricity Generator Levy - a 'temporary' 45% tax on income from electricity sold above the benchmark price - is set to be in place until 31 March 2028. It applies to extraordinary returns made by renewable (solar, wind, biomass), nuclear and energy from waste generators that are connected to the UK national transmission or local distribution networks. Revenues from CfDs are excluded from this levy.
Review of Electricity Market Arrangements
The Government published its long-awaited update on the UK's Review of Electricity Market Arrangements ("REMA") post period end, in July 2025. It confirmed plans to reform the existing Great Britain national pricing system rather than implementing zonal pricing, whereby electricity might have been subject to different pricing regimes in different parts of the UK. Other initiatives announced included transmission network charging and balancing mechanism reforms and greater focus on central planning. The Investment Adviser looks forward to continuing collaborative initiatives with Government and supporting its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
Bluefield Partners LLP |
20 October 2025 |