HSBC has coordinated a £370 million (US$466 million) loan backed by a guarantee from export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) to support offshore wind installation specialist Seaway7.

HSBC, Citibank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DNB, and ING are the mandated lead arrangers.

UKEF issued the guarantee under its Export Development Guarantee programme so that Seaway7 can support the growth of the North Sea offshore wind industry. Its guarantee covers 80% of the total loan.

The agency’s support is also expected to help Seaway7 win and service engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts for fixed offshore wind projects which will generate export revenue. The company has completed offshore wind projects in a range of markets, including Taiwan, the United States, and continental Europe.

Further development of Seaway7’s UK business will create over 100 new jobs in the offshore wind industry of Aberdeen, Scotland by the end of the decade. The company’s Aberdeen base manages the building, use and maintenance of vessels belonging to the company.

Wind tech factory

In another recent transaction, UKEF and K-Sure provided insurance cover on a £367 million loan for South Korean manufacturer SeAH Steel Holding’s construction of a wind tech factory near Redcar, in the Tees Valley, northeast England.

This is UKEF’s first-ever guarantee for inward investment issued under its “Invest to Export” Export Development Guarantee product, signalling the availability of multimillion-pound support for companies investing in new UK exporting opportunities.

SeAH Wind UK will fund the £500 million construction project with the help of £367 million in debt financing arranged by Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK. The facility was also eligible for longer and more flexible repayment terms as a “Clean Growth” facility.

The transaction is the first joint financing between UKEF and K-Sure for a UK investment by a Korean company. UKEF will provide cover for £257 million and K-Sure for £110 million.

The financing will create 750 jobs in Teesside, Middlesbrough, northeast England, and ensure the construction of the world’s largest wind monopile factory in Redcar. SeAH Wind UK will export monopiles to US and European markets.

SeAH Wind UK is a subsidiary of South Korean steel company SeAH Steel Holding.