NextEnergy Solar Fund plans a London flotation to raise £150m
NEXTENERGY Solar Fund, a Guernsey-domiciled investment company focused on solar energy assets in the UK, yesterday said it plans to launch an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange to raise £150m.
Next Energy manages and monitors over 1,100 solar power plants, with an estimated asset value of £3.1bn. It is expected that the company’s shares will start trading in March.
“The UK solar market has come of age as an investment proposition, offering long-term stable returns…while helping the UK achieve its renewable energy targets,” said chief executive Michael Bonte-Friedheim.
Cantor Fitzgerald is acting as financial adviser and lead bookrunner and Shore Capital is acting as sponsor and joint bookrunner.
NextEnergy said it is targeting an annual dividend of 6.25p per share with a target first-year dividend of 4p per share.
A number of green investment vehicles have floated in London over the past year, such as the Renewables Infrastructure Group, which raised £300m in a share sale in London last July. It plans to invest in onshore wind farms and solar parks. Its flotation became the UK’s biggest solar energy IPO this year, surpassing the listing of Greencoat UK Wind which raised £260m in an oversubscribed float last March.