Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised a banking consortium consisting of Citi, Barclays, Bank of America and Crédit Agricole CIB on the first public residential solar asset-backed securitisation in Europe for climate tech startup Enpal.

The first-of-its-kind transaction with a volume of EUR240 million is backed by a portfolio of around 8,500 solar loans to German residential homeowners, serving the high demand for ESG assets in the securitisation market and opening up a new asset class of residential solar loans.

The transaction, labelled “Golden Ray – 1”, was led and structured by Citi as sole arranger, with Citi, Barclays, Bank of America, and Crédit Agricole CIB acting as joint lead managers. The transaction is issued as Green Bond and rated by Moody’s and KBRA. The Class A1 Note is guaranteed by EIF, which constitutes a new feature in the securitisation market.

Climate tech startup Enpal, based in Berlin, is a leading provider of solar and heat pump systems offering an integrated solution for renewable energy. Founded in 2017, Enpal has digitised and revolutionized the purchase of green energy with its rental model and flexible, no-down-payment purchase option, already serving more than 80,000 customers.

The Clifford Chance team advising the banks on the transaction comprised in relation to German law partner Oliver Kronat, senior associate Antonia Walter and associate Alexander Metzing (all Global Financial Markets, Frankfurt), partner Olaf Mertgen and senior associate Steffen Waadt (both Tax, Frankfurt), in relation to English law counsel Radoslav Lolov (Global Financial Markets, Frankfurt) and in relation to Luxembourg law partner Marc Mehlen and senior associate Marie-Elise Gueble (both Global Financial Markets, Luxembourg).