Eaga wins £300m backing for solar panel project

17th Mar 2011 07:53

Green outsourcing company Eaga, in the process of being bought by support services giant Carillion for £306m, has got the £300m of funding needed for a UK residential solar panels project. The firm has signed equity and debt facility agreements made up of £75m in equity and debt financing of £225m provided by a syndicate of five banks - HSBC, Lloyds, National Australia Bank Limited, RBS and Santander.Eaga will stump up £15m, while HSBC Environmental Infrastructure Fund and Barclays European Infrastructure Fund II will each put in £30m to complete the equity contribution. The financing will be drawn down as the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems are installed in more than 30,000 homes. "The pathfinder nature of the project has meant that it has taken longer than we expected to get to this stage, during which time we have had to carry significant costs to maintain our installation capability, but we are now uniquely positioned with both the financial resources and the operational capability to capitalise on this significant market opportunity," said Eaga chief Drew Johnson.