Virgin Money is doubling its support for a leading renewable energy investment fund, moving another step closer to its environmental lending goal.
Virgin Money is delighted to confirm the completion of an £18m uplift in facilities the bank is providing renewable energy investment fund, Gresham House Solar Distribution LLP (the “fund”). The increase takes Virgin Money’s Revolving Credit Facility with the fund to £42m and will support the fast track acquisition of a new 21MW solar park in Norfolk.
Burgate Solar Park will produce enough electricity to power 6,300 homes and becomes the eleventh asset in the portfolio, taking the fund’s total capacity of green energy assets to more than 107MW.
Virgin Money’s unique experience and sector knowledge in providing funding for renewable energy developments enabled the bank to agree the extra facility for the purchase of this major new green energy asset within a very short time window.
The deal takes Virgin Money another step forward towards their aim to have at least £750m of their lending advancing the sustainable development of energy and environment projects and companies by 2027.
“We are fully committed to support the drive to renewable energy across the UK,” says Virgin Money Senior Director, Adam Heslop, “and we have every confidence in Gresham’s investment strategy in their solar park fund. They have built a very significant portfolio of renewable energy assets over the past nine years, and we are very happy to provide the financial facilities to enable them to continue to grow. Virgin Money has a vision to help ‘Build A Brighter Future’ by delivering innovative products that help our customers make a positive impact on society and the environment, and Gresham is playing a leading part in building the UK’s vital clean energy capacity, and dramatically cutting carbon emissions.”
Gresham House Solar Distribution has successfully raised more than £60m from investors to fund the acquisition of their portfolio of operational ground-mounted solar parks in England and Wales. The Burgate Solar Park acquisition takes the fund’s total capacity to over 100MW, enough to supply around 32,000 homes and offset 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Wayne Cranstone, Investment Director, New Energy at Gresham House, says “the bank’s expertise and environmental vision makes Virgin Money the perfect partner in our drive to build the UK’s renewable energy capacity, and help the UK meet its climate change targets and net zero”.