UrbanVolt has announced a €36m term loan facility, made up of a €30m seven-year loan from Swedish-based credit fund PCP and €6m from existing funders BVP and Beach Point Capital.
UrbanVolt finances and installs solar panels on the rooftops of businesses and sells the solar generated electricity to those same businesses at up to 30% below prices charged by traditional electricity suppliers.
UrbanVolt guarantees the price for up to 30 years. Customers only pay for the power they use.
The loan facility will be used to fund the installation of solar panels and related equipment on UrbanVolt’s primary target of commercial and industrial client sites in both Ireland and the UK.
Co-founder and CEO Kevin Maughan described the funding facility as “transformational”.
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The business is capital intensive as UrbanVolt finances all the costs of buying and installing the solar panels onto the roofs of its client companies. Maughan said the debt facility will allow the company to significantly increase the number of installations completed over the next 24 months.
“It will allow us to scale at pace to meet the significant demand in the market while also streamlining the process of installing solar panels,” said Maughan.
“This first funding facility from PCP will see our project output grow by 20x over the coming years. It is also happening at a time when the demand for renewable energy is rising significantly given climate and geopolitical crises.
“There is simply no compelling reason for commercial and industrial operators to opt for traditional energy sources anymore, he added.
"UrbanVolt offers unparalleled price security and clean energy you can always rely on. By incorporating an ‘as a Service’ business model, our customers only pay for the energy they use without a standing charge, and the cost of our equipment and its maintenance is kept off their balance sheet.”
UrbanVolt launched its solar offering last year and says it has agreed contracts with 60 companies, with seven installations completed to date. The energy generated from these agreed contracts will be the equivalent of taking 4,000 homes off the grid, according to the company.
In addition to solar energy, the company also finances, installs and maintains energy efficient LED lighting systems in large commercial and industrial sites such as car parks and warehouses.
In 2020, UrbanVolt raised €7m from investors including the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and businessman Stephen Vernon who is chairman of the company.
