Virgin Money has agreed a new financing partnership with specialist alternative asset management company Gresham House, the bank’s largest transaction in the renewable sector to date. This relationship will provide Gresham House Solar Distribution LLP (GHSD) with an £18m revolving credit facility, through a flexible funding arrangement, to facilitate the growth of its solar assets.
In line with Virgin Money’s strategy to at least halve carbon emissions across everything the bank finances by 2030, this is the bank’s first major step towards possessing a loan book comprising at least 5% in sustainable lending by FY22.
The Gresham House alternative investment fund has successfully raised more than £49m from investors to date and currently owns eight operational ground-mounted solar parks in England and Wales. With a total capacity of 48MW, the portfolio generates more than 45GWh of electricity per year – enough to supply more than 12,500 homes and save more than 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.