Bank of China contributes £9.65 million GBP to the £183.6 million GBP revolver credit facility tranche of a £2.0068 billion GBP syndicated loan for the 882 MW Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Project

Project narrative

On April 21, 2023, financial close was reached on a deal in which a syndicate of 19 banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a £2.0068 billion GBP ($2.495 billion USD) syndicated loan agreement with Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited — an England and Wales-incorporated special purpose vehicle (SPV) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Moray West Holdings Limited, an England and Wales-incorporated SPV jointly owned by Moray Offshore Renewable Power Limited, an England and Wales-incorporated subsidiary of Ocean Winds UK Limited, an England and Wales-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of OW Offshore, S.L. (Ocean Worlds), a Spain-incorporated 50:50 joint venture between EDP Renováveis, S.A. and Engie S.A. (67% equity stake); by Delphis Holding Limited, an England and Wales-incorporated wholly owned subsidiary of OW Offshore (28% equity stake); and by UAB Ignitis Renewables, a Lithuania-incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Lithuanian state-owned energy company Ignitis grupė, AB (5% equity stake) — for the 882 MW Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Project. The loan was divided into four tranches: a £1.0188 billion GBP ($1.26665 million USD) term loan tranche known as 'Facility A' with a maturity period of 20 years, a final maturity date of December 12, 2042, no grace period, an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin between 150 basis points (bps) and 160 bps, a repayment schedule of every six months, and with a £155.0 million GBP portion (half of the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) element) under coverage (guarantee) from Eksfin; a £367.10 million GBP ($456.41 million USD) term loan tranche known as 'Facility B' with a maturity period of eight years, a final maturity date of December 12, 2030, no grace period, an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin between 150 bps and 160 bps, and a repayment schedule of every six months; a £183.60 million GBP ($228.26 million USD) revolver credit facility known as 'Facility C' with a maturity period of 20 years, a maturity date of December 12, 2042, no grace period, an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin between 150 bps and 160 bps, and a repayment schedule of every six months; and £437.30 million GBP ($543.68 million USD) ancillary facilities known as 'Facility D' with a maturity period of 20 years, a maturity date of December 12, 2042, no grace period, an interest rate based on a floating rate plus a margin between 150 bps and 160 bps, and a repayment schedule of every six months. The loan was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) by a number of collateral charged by security trustee MUFG Bank. The loan was secured by a first legal mortgage on all property (none registered and unregistered land at the time of the debenture); a first fixed charge on all other interests in any property; all investments, being any stock, share, debenture, loan stock, security, or interest in any investment funds (other than account investments); all plant, machinery, vehicles, computers, office, and other equipment and the benefit of all contracts, licenses, and warranties; all book debts and all monetary claims; all other debts; all rights, title, or interest to cash-deposit, current, or other project accounts, namely a Pre-Completion Revenues Account, Proceeds Account, Swap Collateral Account, Transmission Construction Account (EUR), Transmission Construction Account (NOK), Transmission Construction (USD), Transmission Construction Account (GBP), Transmission Sale Proceeds Account, VAT Account, Debt Service Reserve Account, Generation Construction Account (EUR), Generation Construction Account (USD), Generation Construction Account (NOK), Generation Construction Account (GBP), Insurance Proceeds and Compensation, and LC Reserve Account, all held at MUFG Bank; all patents, trade marks, service marks, designs, business names, copyrights, database rights, design rights, domain names, moral rights, inventions, confidential information, knowhow, and other intellectual property rights and interests; the benefit of all licenses and all other consents and agreements held by it in connection with the use of any of its asset; its goodwill and uncalled capital; and a security assignment of all the assigned agreements (contracts), namely in the project documents, the shareholder support agreement, each hedging documents, each of the insurances, each acceptable credit support, and guarantees and credit support documents related to the project documents; insurances policies held by the chargor; and the hedging documents charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited) in a debenture dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by a standard security over all and whole land at Pitlurg Wood, near Keith, Banffshire registered or undergoing registration in the Land Register of Scotland under Title Number BNF14465 charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited in a standard security dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by all and whole of the tenant's interest in a lease dated June 16 and July 27, 2022, between Philip Simmers, Symon Edward Grant Simmers, and Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited registered at the Land Register of Scotland under Title Number BNF15430 together with the whole buildings and erections thereon, the fittings and fixtures therein and thereon, the parts, privileges, and pertinents thereof, the whole rights common, mutual, and exclusive effeiring thereto, and the chargor's whole right, title, and interest, present and future, therein and thereto charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited in a standard security dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by all and whole of the tenant's interest in the lease dated February 25, 2022 and March 23, 2023 between William Alexander Milne, Alice Lorna Milne, David Cameron Milne, and Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited registered or undergoing registration in the Land Register of Scotland under Title Number BNF15245 together with the whole buildings and erections thereon, the fittings and fixtures therein and thereon, the parts, privileges, and pertinents thereof, the whole rights common, mutual, and exclusive effeiring thereto, and the chargor's whole right, title, and interest, present and future, therein and thereto charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited in a standard security dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by all and whole of the tenant's interest in the lease dated March 8 and 10, 2023 between Network Rail Infrastructure Limited and Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited registered or undergoing registration in the Land Register of Scotland under Title Number BNF15803 together with the whole buildings and erections thereon, the fittings and fixtures therein and thereon, the parts, privileges, and pertinents thereof, the whole rights common, mutual, and exclusive effeiring thereto, and the charger's whole right, title, and interest, present and future, therein and thereto charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited in a standard security dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by a standard security over all and whole the subjects at Whitehillock, Keith registered or undergoing registration in the Land Register of Scotland under Title Number BNF15179 together with the whole buildings and erections thereon, the fittings and fixtures therein and thereon, the parts, privileges, and pertinents thereof, the whole rights common, mutual, and exclusive effeiring thereto, and the charger's whole right, title, and interest, present and future, therein and thereto charged by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited in a standard security dated April 6, 2023. The loan was also secured by fixed charges in all 1,000 ordinary shares of Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited owned by Moray West Holdings Limited and all holdco accounts (cash-deposit) and all account investment, investment proceeds, and investment income, including a Holdco Proceeds Account at MUFG Bank charged by Moray West Holdings Limited in a HoldCo Security Agreement dated April 6, 2023. The loan had a contracted debt service cover ratio (DSCR) of 1.25x and a merchant DSCR of 1.5x to 1.7x, based on likely wind production levels across 15 years. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. (AIB), Barclays Bank PLC, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), BNP Paribas S.A., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Crédit Industriel et Commercial (CIC), Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Commerzbank AG), Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB), HSBC Bank PLC, KBC Bank N.V., Lloyds Bank plc, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., MUFG Bank, Ltd., Siemens Bank GmbH, Société Générale S.A. (SocGen), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). 16 lenders, including BOC, contributed approximately £53.36 million GBP ($66.35 million USD) to the £1.0188 billion GBP tranche, while BBVA contributed £25.66 million GBP ($31.90 million USD), HSBC contributed £68.30 million GBP ($84.92 million USD), and Mizuho Bank contributed £71.00 million GBP ($88.27 million USD). Record ID#109303 captures BOC's contribution. 16 lenders, including BOC, contributed approximately £19.22 million GBP ($23.90 million USD) to the £367.1 million GBP tranche, while BBVA contributed £10.90 million GBP ($13.55 million USD), HSBC contributed £19.60 million GBP ($24.37 million USD), and Mizuho Bank contributed £29.00 million GBP ($36.05 million USD). Record ID#109317 captures BOC's contribution. 16 lenders, including BOC, contributed approximately £9.65 million GBP ($11.99 million USD) to the £183.6 million GBP tranche, while BBVA contributed £5.45 million GBP ($6.78 million USD), HSBC contributed £9.80 million GBP ($12.18 million USD), and Mizuho Bank contributed £14.00 million GBP ($17.41 million USD). Record ID#109318 captures BOC's contribution. 16 lenders, including BOC, contributed approximately £24.02 million GBP ($29.86 million USD) to the £437.3 million GBP tranche, while BBVA contributed £13.00 million GBP ($6.78 million USD), HSBC contributed £14.00 million GBP ($17.41 million USD), and Mizuho Bank contributed £26.00 million GBP ($32.33 million USD). Record ID#109319 captures BOC's contribution. Caixabank, S.A. later joined the loan by December 2023. Circa May 2024, Bank of Ireland joined with a £56 million GBP ($71.5 million USD) contribution that it had purchased from a portion of an existing syndicate lender’s debt. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to finance the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Project, a 882 MW fixed-foundation onshore wind farm on a plot of 225 square kilometers located on the Smith Bank off the coast of the Moray Council in the Moray Firth around 25 miles from the Aberdeenshire coast, around 22.5 kilometers southeast of the Caithness coastline, and about 21 kilometers (13 miles) north of Buckie in Scotland consisting of 60 257-meter tall (843 feet) Siemens Gamesa turbines with a capacity of 14.7 MW each, with 275 kilometers of inter array cable connecting the turbines, two offshore substation platforms (OSPs), two 50 kilometer offshore export cable circuits to come ashore above Broad Craig, between Sandend Beach and Redhythe Point, onshore cable jointing bays and 31 kilometers of cabling for two underground circuits from landfall to Whitehillock to Whitehillock, an onshore substation at Whitehillock to step-up voltages from 220 kV to 440 KV, onshore underground cabling between the Whitehillock substation and the Blackhillrock substation near Keith, from which the output would go into the National Grid, and and an a 1991 square meter Operations & Maintenance (O&M) base in Buckie adjacent to the Buckie Harbour Pier with offices, warehousing, training facilities, and a redeveloped quayside area with pontoons, cranes, and fuel storage to serve the Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). Moray West was adjacent to the operational Moray East Offshore Wind Farm. The Whitehillock substation was selected to minimize its environmental impact in the local area, adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with a water stream running outside the site boundary. The O&M base was designed to be energy and heating efficient, with triple glazing, air source heat pumps, and photovoltaic solar panels on the roof. The project was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 1.4 million tons per annum and improve the local economy via infrastructure upgrades at ports and fabrications facilities and creating jobs. Construction reportedly created about 1,500 jobs. The wind farm was expected to generate enough power for 640,000 average homes. The project had an estimated 25-year lifespan once operational. The project had an overall cost of £2.600 billion GBP ($3.23251 billion USD), with an equity investment of £593.20 million GBP ($737.51 million USD), most of which was provided by Ocean Winds (£563.54 million GBP; $700.63 million USD) and Ignitis (£29.66 million GBP; $36.88 million USD). Ocean Winds’ (EDPR and ENGIE’s) share of equity in the project was financed with an equity bridge loan, backed by parent company guarantees from its sponsors, that was to be repaid at commercial operations date. The Government of United Kingdom entered into a 15-year contract for difference (CfD) agreement with the wind farm for 249 MW (33% of the output) at £37.35 GBP per MWh. Additionally, the wind farm entered into two corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) with Google for 100 MW for 12 years and with Amazon for 473 MW for 15 years. Siemens Gamesa provided the turbines. Siemens Energy and Iemants N.V. were together contracted for the two offshore substation platforms. Nexans was contracted for the two offshore export cable circuits and onshore underground cabling between Whitehillock substation and Blackhillock substation. Siemens Energy awarded a civil engineering contract to Robertson Civil Engineering for the new substation at Whitehillock. CHAP Group was responsible for the construction of the O&M base. Navantia, S.A., Dajin Offshore Heavy Industry, and Windar provided the monopiles for the turbines. Construction work commenced on February 7, 2023. The wind farm was expected to be fully operational by 2024/25. On or around July 3, 2024, the wind power delivered the first power to Scotland’s National Electricity Transmission System (NETS). Formal completion of construction works was on January 7, 2025 for the wind farm and January 23, 2025 for the offshore transmission infrastructure The wind farm was officially switched onto full operations on April 24, 2025.