UK asset management fund Aviva Investors has closed its solar PV fund for the first time, raising £131 million of commitments for UK solar investment.
The company, alongside the Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP), sealed commitments from four UK pension schemes to invest in small-scale solar installations across the UK with the aim of delivering long-term cash flow to the fund.
PIP confirmed the first closure in a statement issued this morning but revealed that the fund will now look to raise additional commitments with a hard cap of £250 million.
Matthew Graham, business development director at Aviva Investors, said that the fund had attracted “strong investor interest” since its launch in February this year.
'Aviva Investors’ proposition in infrastructure has been designed to respond to our clients’ need for outcome-oriented solutions, offering long-term secure inflation-linked income that can provide attractive risk-adjusted returns,” Graham added.
PIP chief executive Mike Weston said that reaching the first close with £131 million reflected “the appetite” pension funds have for investing in core infrastructure assets such as solar farms.
The UK’s secondary solar market is currently booming following the 1.4ROC deadline in April with a number of investment vehicles and yieldcos such as Foresight Solar Fund and TerraForm Power targeting UK projects for acquisition.