Drax Group has secured a substantial £1.083 billion bridge facility, with lead roles taken by JPMorgan and Santander, to finance its recent acquisition of Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF). The deal, which finalized on July 31, 2026, was valued at £561 million in equity, giving BSIF an enterprise value of £1.08 billion. This strategic acquisition marks Drax's first foray into solar and wind assets, diversifying its portfolio beyond biomass, hydro, pumped storage, and flexible gas generation.
The acquisition adds 0.9GW of operational and under-construction solar and wind capacity to Drax's UK portfolio, alongside a significant 2.9GW development pipeline. The operational assets include approximately 0.8GW of solar and 0.1GW of onshore wind across more than 250 sites. The pipeline further includes around 2GW of battery storage and 0.9GW of solar projects, with about 0.5GW of proposed solar projects having secured long-term Contracts for Difference, and 0.2GW in near-term development potentially entering service by 2028.
Following the acquisition and strong trading in July and August, Drax has raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA outlook to the top end of analyst consensus estimates, which range from £680 million to £711 million. This updated guidance is an increase from the earlier projection of £665 million that did not factor in the Bluefield deal. The company's total capacity under management has now increased to approximately 6.1GW, with plans to operate Bluefield as a dedicated Solar & Wind segment from 2027.
