Image: Solarcentury.

NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has bolstered its chequebook by raising £126.5 million from a share placing that was significantly oversubscribed.

Originally intending to raise £100 million, NESF elected to increase the placing’s size to accommodate for the level of interest.

It said it took into account the strength of the company’s near-term investment pipeline – which stands at circa 100MW – as well as current available cash and its dividend target when reaching the decision.

NESF revealed its intention to raise the finance last week, indicating to the market that it was in various stages of negotiations with nearly 600MW of UK solar capacity.

A total of 115 million new shares will now be issued with admission expected to become effective from 8am on Friday 23 June.

Kevin Lyon, chairman at NESF, said: “The board is delighted to have had such a positive response to the company's fundraising from both existing shareholders and new investors. This fundraising will enable the company to continue to build on its strong position and pursue attractive investment opportunities.”

While chasing operational capacity, NESF has too established its interest in taking on project development rights for subsidy-free solar assets in the UK.

Earlier this month the firm revealed that it had acquired nearly 60MW of development projects that would be unsubsidised which it was looking to develop over the next 12 to 24 months.