Category: Uncategorised

Elgar Middleton is delighted to hit its latest milestone of raising £3bn of renewable energy debt on behalf of its clients

2019 saw Elgar Middleton raise almost £1bn of non-recourse debt across renewable technologies in the UK and Australia. This brings our total amount of renewable energy debt raised since inception to £3bn. We are hugely encouraged by this milestone which reflects both the hard work of the team worldwide and the trust placed in us by our clients.

We have been delighted to see so many of our clients returning to us throughout the past few years: we take the time to understand the goals of each financing, we identify the most competitive funders to deliver the best possible terms, and our Partners ensure a smooth transaction execution by project managing the process from start to finish.

We would like to thank our clients and fellow advisors as well as each of the members of the growing Elgar Middleton team for their support in achieving this landmark. Here’s looking forward to billion number 4!

Elgar Middleton is delighted to have advised Neoen SA. and John Laing on the refinancing of Hornsdale 309MW wind farm portfolio

The three stages of the Hornsdale wind portfolio located near Jamestown, SA have successfully transitioned to steady operational stage over the past years.

The projects benefit from strong ACT PPAs, improving grid/curtailment conditions, as well as the strategical support of the MLA club: Korea Development Bank, Natixis, Mizuho Bank and Societe Generale. The long-term debt solution is designed to unlock significant value for the Sponsors in the medium and long term as well as align the legacy financing of the assets with the most recent developments and precedents in the Australian renewables project finance market. This marks the second successful cooperation between Neoen and Elgar Middleton after the award winning Bulgana Green Power Hub (IJ Global’s APAC Storage Deal of the Year 2018).

White&Case acted as Legal advisors for the sponsors, while HSF supported the Lenders. Further specific transaction support was provided by JCRA, EY, Baringa, Willis, GHD and DNV.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the arrival of Malek Benlarbi-Delai in its London office.

Malek joins the team as an Associate specialising in the wind and solar sectors. His focus will be on supporting the origination and execution of M&A and debt financing opportunities in Continental Europe.

After completing his Masters degree in Financial Analysis and Management from the University of Exeter, Malek worked at JLL and before then, at Ardian and the Caisse des Depots et Consignations. His experience includes conducting multiple in-depth analysis of the European infrastructure and renewable energy market and being involved in the advisory of various renewable energy projects in the UK.

Elgar Middleton has advised Foresight Solar Fund Limited on the refinancing of a 321MW solar PV portfolio in the UK

The financing comprised a £170m senior secured facility provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”) and Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale (“Helaba”), a £65m revolving credit facility provided by National Westminster Bank plc (“NatWest”), and a £10m debt service reserve facility.

The new financing benefited from reduced margins and an extended tenor, and provides additional flexibility for Foresight Solar Fund Limited to pursue new investment opportunities.

The project consists of a portfolio of 321MW of solar PV assets spread across 28 sites, and is wholly-owned by Foresight Solar Fund Limited – a fund managed by leading independent global infrastructure and private equity manager, Foresight Group.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the arrival of Carlos Andrés Prudencio in its London office.

Carlos joins the team as an Associate Director specialising in the wind and solar sectors. His focus will be on supporting the origination and execution of M&A and debt financing opportunities in the UK and Continental Europe.

Prior to Elgar Middleton, Carlos was a Vice-President in Santander’s London Project and Acquisition Finance team and before then, he worked in Société Générale’s Energy Advisory and Project Finance team, based in London. During this time, Carlos worked on advisory and lending mandates for landmark energy and infrastructure projects across Europe and the Middle East. With over 6 years of experience in the energy space Carlos has gathered considerable exposure to onshore and offshore wind, solar PV and CSP as well as conventional thermal energy and infrastructure.

Carlos holds a Master in Management from ESSEC Business School Paris and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

• Elgar Middleton leads financing on the IJGlobal ‘APAC Storage Deal of the Year 2018’ award

• Elgar Middleton is shortlisted for the IJGlobal ‘Financial Advisor of the Year 2018’ awards (Europe and APAC)

Image courtesy of Teslarati

Elgar Middleton is delighted to congratulate Neoen Australia / Siemens and Tesla on winning IJGlobal’s APAC Storage Deal of the Year Award – Bulgana Green Power Hub.

This unique and innovative project consists of a 200MW wind farm and an integrated 20MW/35MWh Tesla battery storage facility. The combined facility will provide uninterrupted power to an adjacent greenhouse via a private-wire PPA, whilst supplying the rest of the generated electricity to the state of Victoria through a tailored state Power Offtake Agreement.

This combination of a behind-the-meter storage and complex offtake agreement was considered by the panel of judges to be visionary due to its ability to manage industrial loads and provide complete power solutions to C&Is.

Elgar Middleton acted as the financial advisor to the project, and alongside Neoen’s team, ensured that the financing structure matched the innovative technology solution.

White and Case and Herbert Smith Freehills supported the borrower and lenders respectively.

The AUD350 million project was supported by long-term non-recourse project debt provided by KfW IPEX-Bank, Societe Generale, and the Korea Development Bank.

Damien Bonnamy, CFO Australia at Neoen commented:

“Elgar Middleton’s support in structuring and leading the financing process was decisive to reaching financial close in less than 7 weeks from commercial agreement, for a project mixing large wind farm, storage facility, behind the meter corporate client and a state PPA. Elgar Middleton also successfully brought together a unique combination of lenders from Europe and Asia.”

Elgar Middleton’s structuring and execution capabilities earned the firm nominations in two further categories:

– IJGlobal APAC Financial Advisor of the Year 2018
– IJGlobal European Financial Advisor of the Year 2018

These accolades demonstrate Elgar Middleton’s expertise in complex multi-technology renewable energy financings and reinforces its status as a leading financial adviser in the renewable energy sector.

Elgar Middleton has advised JLEN on the refinancing of a 180MW combined wind and solar portfolio.

The transaction was structured as a single term loan at the holding company-level. Elgar Middleton acted as financial adviser to JLEN and arranged the £177 million senior debt package from lenders SMBC and National Australia Bank.

The new financing benefited from reduced margins, an extended tenor, and greater operational flexibility for JLEN.

The project consists of a combined portfolio of 146MW of wind farms and 34MW of solar assets, all spread across 14 sites.

Partner, Simon Middleton, commented:

“We are delighted to have continued our long-standing relationship with JLEN with this latest refinancing for an extremely prudent client that always seeks to protect the long term interest of their investors while delivering sustainable dividends.”

Muxin Ma, Investment Director at John Laing Capital Management commented:

“In Elgar Middleton, we found a diligent and pragmatic adviser who was instrumental in closing this transaction. Their financing expertise and modelling capabilities, combined with their project management guidance ensured we delivered the financial close in a timely manner. We greatly appreciated their support and look forward to working with them on future transactions.”

Contact

Simon Middleton 
[email protected]
+44 207 099 6367

Elgar Middleton acted as financial adviser on the 330MW Darlington Point solar PV project in Australia

The transaction involved raising construction and term loan facilities for a 330MW solar PV plant, near Darlington Point, NSW. Octopus Investments and Edify Energy are the project’s sponsors.

Elgar Middleton led the financing process and assisted the sponsors in achieving financial close on 21 December 2018, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation underwriting non-recourse debt facilities for the deal.

Construction of the solar project has already commenced and full power generation is expected before 1Q2020. The project – being the largest solar PV farm in Australia – is expected to generate 685,000 MWh of affordable green electricity each year and is optimised to accommodate battery storage facilities on site.

John Cole, Chief Executive at Edify Energy, commented:

“We are excited to add the largest solar farm in Australia to our portfolio of developed, financed and operational projects. Delivering a portfolio of energy and battery storage projects that will power over 280,000 Australian homes is something we are extremely proud of. Yuriy Davidov and the team at Elgar Middleton have supported Edify Energy in the debt financing of the project and their drive and commitment was instrumental in the project achieving financial close in the tight time frames that were required.”

This transaction is a further testament to Elgar Middleton’s status as one of the leading independent financial advisers in the Australian renewable energy sector.

Contact

Yuriy Davidov
[email protected]
+612 8311 0880

Elgar Middleton has advised TRIG, the Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd (LSE:TRIG), on its £195m refinancing of a portfolio of seven onshore wind farms in the UK.

The transaction has been structured as a non-recourse portfolio financing, providing greater flexibility and simplified administrative and reporting requirements. TRIG also benefited from an improvement in the commercial terms over the existing financing and an increase to the debt tenor. KfW IPEX-Bank, one of three existing lenders alongside BNP Paribas and Lloyds, was the sole lender of GBP 195m in senior debt facilities.

Contact

Simon Middleton
[email protected]
+44 207 099 6367

Elgar Middleton has advised Neoen on the project financing of the AUD$350m Bulgana Green Power Hub – an integrated wind farm and battery storage facility – located in Victoria, Australia

The transaction involved raising long-term debt from KfW IPEX-Bank, Societe Generale, and Korean government-owned financial institution Korea Development. Elgar Middleton worked with both Neoen and the lenders to ensure a timely financial close – within just 6 weeks from the moment the lenders were appointed.

The project benefits from a long-term PPA with the Victorian government and a corporate PPA with Nectar Farms. Once built, the project will provide 100% renewable energy to what will be the largest glasshouse in Australia – a world-first for the horticulture industry.

Damien Bonnamy, CFO Australia at Neoen commented:

“Elgar Middleton’s support in structuring and leading the financing process was decisive to reaching financial close in less than 7 weeks from commercial agreement, for a project mixing large wind farm, storage facility, behind the meter corporate client and a state PPA. Elgar Middleton also successfully brought together a unique combination of lenders from Europe and Asia.”

Elgar Middleton is proud to have supported this innovative wind farm and battery storage project which has reinforced the firm’s reputation as a leading independent financial adviser in the renewable energy sector.

Contact

Yuriy Davidov
[email protected]
+612 8311 0880