The Foresight Solar Group has announced a net asset value (NAV) of £626.9 million in its update for 31 December 2019.
The investor, one of the UK’s largest holders of utility-scale PV assets, had a strong year according to its Q4 2019 NAV results, with production 3.9% above budget across the company’s UK portfolio.
But the NAV per ordinary share was 103.6 pence, down from 109.1 pence per ordinary share on 30 September 2019. This was largely due to “a significant downward revision of UK power price forecasts” the report warns.
This revision lead to a negative impact of approximately 5.5 pence per share, equating to a reduction of £33 million from Foresight's value.
Additionally, the NAV was negatively affected by the results of Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review (TCR), with the regulator's final decision confirmed last December. This has proved controversial in the energy sector, with many criticising the TCR, arguing it will negatively affect the uptake of renewables.
Foresight says that the TCR led to a decrease in NAV of 1.6 pence per share in Q4 of 2019, effectively wiping ~£9.6m off the fund’s value.
The NAV was also effected by a revaluation of the Oakey 2 asset, following a delay in the expected commissioning date. This was caused by weather, and led to a 1.1 pence per share decrease in NAV.
Foresight was very active during 2019, cementing its position as in the UK solar market with the acquisition of John Laing Environmental Assets’ (JLEN) advisory mandate, bringing its assets under management to £4 billion.
It completed a £245 million debt refinancing for its then 321MW UK solar portfolio consisting of 28 assets in August. And in October, announced its intention to raise funds via a new share placing, in an effort to pay down its existing debt, before appointing Steven Hughes as director and head of portfolio in February 2020.