NatWest partners with Glennmont Partners to finance the construction of 17 solar photovoltaic projects across Spain, Italy and Portugal with a total debt package of €450 million.

22 Oct 2024 – Press Release

As a Tier 1 lender, NatWest has provided Glennmont Partners with a flexible and innovative Power Purchase Agreement Strategy across the portfolio and included an accordion facility to future-proof the structure. Glennmont Partners has also benefitted from the support of the European Investment Bank.

The funding will allow the construction of a 710 MW solar photovoltaic portfolio by independent power producer BNZ.

Backed by Glennmont Partners, BNZ develops, builds and operates solar photovoltaic projects in Southern Europe, particularly in Spain, Portugal and Italy, and is reviewing opportunities in adjacent jurisdictions and synergetic technologies, such as wind and battery storage solutions. The transaction supports the local aim of producing over 80% of clean electricity in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian electricity markets within the next decade.

Lyudmil Banev, Director, Project & Infrastructure Finance, NatWest said:

“We are delighted to partner with Glennmont Partners to arrange this flexible and scalable financing package, supporting BNZ’s ongoing growth in the European market and allowing them to maximise the value of their development pipeline.

“We remain highly committed to funding renewable projects across Europe as illustrated by our £100 billion climate and sustainable financing target, and our new office in Frankfurt, Germany is strategically placed to better support our European client bases as they look to further deliver and deploy sustainable technologies.”

Christoph Fischer, Managing Director, Head of Specialist Finance, Frankfurt, NatWest said:

“We are extremely happy to work with Glennmont Partners on this landmark transaction. Continuing to support the renewables sector is an important part of NatWest’s funding and Southern Europe remains a key region of focus for us.

“Energy transition is first and foremost about turning the power sector into the central switchboard of our energy system, for which we need abundant, ubiquitous and competitive green electricity.”

The transaction builds on a longstanding successful partnership between NatWest and Glennmont Partners in the global renewable energy market. Glennmont Partners is one of Europe’s largest fund managers focusing exclusively on investment in clean energy infrastructure.

With c.€4 billion of dedicated assets under management and over five gigawatts of renewable energy assets, Glennmont Partners has a team of over 30 professionals managing the BNZ platform.

Luis Selva, Managing Director, BNZ said:

“The new phase marked by the closing of our financing demonstrates the solidity of our business and the ambitious nature of our plans. It opens new opportunities for us to explore technological and geographical diversity, and to expand both our operations and our team, with the aim of becoming one of the largest independent power producers in the market.

“We want to continue building a cleaner and more sustainable future, and the support from such significant financial institutions shows a shared long-term vision to achieve a better world”.

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Source : Natwestgroup