Forrest in £120m solar funding deal

NORTH West social housing contractor Forrest has struck a £120m funding deal for solar power with the investment bank Macquarie.

Under the terms of the deal, Macquarie will fund the installation of solar panels over the next three years in return for the revenue from the Government’s feed-in tariff scheme.

Bolton-based Forrest plans to offer the service to its social housing client base and to homeowners.

Ted Macdougal, development director at Forrest, said: “We have now delivered over 6,000 solar PV installations and this agreement will see us significantly expand the scope and scale of our presence in the renewables market over the next two decades.

“In Macquarie, we have a partner with the long-term investment horizon that is necessary to help us deliver thousands more installations even as the FIT levels awarded by the Government gradually reduce.”

Private equity firm Palatine invested £16m in a secondary buyout at Forrest in October.