NextPower UK (NPUK), the largest private fund focused specifically on new-build UK solar, has raised a total of £733m at its final fundraising round, nearly 50% higher than its target of £500m.
The UK’s National Wealth Fund was the cornerstone investor into NPUK, investing £250m on a match-funding basis to drive private capital into new build renewables in the UK.
The strategy paid off as the fundraising period added new investors, including several local government pension pools, such as LGPS Central and Border to Coast, alongside international investors looking to access and capture the growth landscape for new build solar PV in the UK through a specialist investment manager.
Nadeem Hussain, head of private markets and co-CIO at LGPS Central, said: “We are committed to investing in high-quality infrastructure opportunities that align with both financial objectives and sustainability principles on behalf of our partner funds. NextPower UK offers long-term, stable returns from utility-scale solar farms while driving meaningful environmental impact.”
Imraan Mohammed, portfolio manager at Border to Coast, said the UK “punches above its weight for development-stage renewables, given the strong market fundamentals and increasing policy support we are seeing here”.
The NPUK fund was one of Border to Coast’s earlier infrastructure allocations from its diversified Climate Opportunities vehicle. “We are pleased with the catalytic effect the fund has had in crowding in funding for critical UK infrastructure,” Mohammed added.
NPUK supports the UK’s Clean Power 2030 ambitions of delivering energy security and decreasing the country’s carbon output through increasing the amount of domestic green power production. The fund aims to provide attractive returns through generating stable cash flows from a portfolio of new-build utility-scale solar PV assets in the UK with long-term contracted revenue streams. It made its first distribution to investors in September 2023, just 13 months after its launch.
To date, NPUK has deployed over 70% of its committed capital from investors and has recently acquired its fifteenth asset, raising NPUK’s portfolio capacity to 731MW. NPUK now has 249MW of operating solar assets in the UK, including Llanwern solar farm, the UK’s largest operating solar asset.
Managed by NextEnergy Capital, NPUK is a 10-year closed-end private fund classified as an article 9 fund under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
