Independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised GLIL Infrastructure, a UK pension funds partnership with over £3 billion of infrastructure assets, and Bluefield Solar Income Fund (Bluefield Solar), a London listed UK income fund focused primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets, on the acquisition of a 247MW portfolio of 58 operational solar assets located across southern and central England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, from Lightsource bp, a global leader in the development and management of solar energy projects.
The acquisition is the first to be completed under the newly formed long-term strategic partnership between Bluefield Solar and GLIL Infrastructure under which both parties intend to invest together into UK-focused solar assets, supporting the country’s energy transition and working towards a sustainable net zero economy. The acquisition from Lightsource bp will see Bluefield Solar invest £20 million of equity into the portfolio, alongside £200 million from GLIL.
A cross-disciplinary group of lawyers from Burges Salmon advised GLIL and Bluefield Solar on the acquisition. The Burges Salmon team was led by corporate partner Jonathan Eves and senior associate Bethan Penrhyn-Jones, with support from the wider Energy team including projects partner James Phillips and director Peter Ramsden.
Jonathan Eves comments: “It has been a pleasure working with both GLIL and Bluefield Solar on their first acquisition as part of the newly formed partnership, to support, and invest in, the development of solar assets across the UK. Our understanding of the renewables sector, combined with our transactional expertise, has enabled us to guide the partnership through this exciting new venture and we look forward to working again with Bluefield Solar and GLIL as part of their strategic partnership to accelerate the UK’s solar transformation.”
Neil Wood, Partner at Bluefield Partners, says: “We are pleased to mark the commencement of our strategic partnership with GLIL by investing together in this large, diversified and operational portfolio. GLIL is the ideal partner for a company like Bluefield Solar, sharing our multi-decade view of asset management. We’d like to thank Burges Salmon once again for their excellent advice throughout this project, the team has guided us through the complexities with ease and we’re grateful for their support and expertise.”
Julia Carter, Deputy Portfolio Manager at GLIL Infrastructure, says: "This acquisition represents a strong strategic relationship with Bluefield and Lightsource bp that enables GLIL Infrastructure to access a substantial portfolio of operational solar energy assets as well as a maturing development pipeline. GLIL members are committed to driving the energy transition towards a sustainable net zero economy and these assets make a welcome addition to our growing clean energy portfolio.”
Burges Salmon is regularly engaged in solar, onshore and offshore wind, energy storage, biomass, energytech and other net zero projects, and advises on all stages and aspects of major renewable developments.