westbrooke / real
Renewable Energy Alternatives
Westbrooke Real invests into a diversified portfolio of solar photovoltaic projects across South Africa, alongside Westbrooke’s exclusive, market leading partners. Projects are secured against power purchase agreements entered into with quality end users, each of which has been assessed and approved by Westbrooke’s internal credit team.
By utilising the Section 12B and Section 12BA tax deductions contained within the South African Income Tax Act, Westbrooke Real provides investors with an up to 200% tax deduction in the year of investment.
key investment highlights
Up to 200% tax deductible in the year of investment
Equating to c.90% of the investment being funded through your tax money
Targeted net investment IRR* of 50%+ p.a. and average yield of 8% p.a. (net of all fees and investor-related taxes)
Deployment risk mitigated through an investment pipeline in excess of R350 million+
Investment alongside Westbrooke – SA’s largest tax enhanced private market investment manager
Diversified portfolio of solar PV assets alongside best of breed operating partners
Partnering with SARS to address SA’s electricity crisis
Minimum investment of R1 million in cash (equating to a tax deduction of up to R2 million)
why invest with westbrooke
- Founder and Chair of the previous Section 12J Industry Association – leading the industry engagement process with SARS
- In excess of R4 billion raised and invested across Section 12J and Section 12B since 2016
- More than R2.5 billion of this capital has been successfully returned to clients, at average annualised post tax of between 12% – 14% p.a.
- More than 100 underlying investments made in the Tax Enhanced Investing asset class since inception
- Investments supported by numerous tax opinions provided from market leading law firms, and further supported by Senior Counsel opinions in areas of particular risk
- Our capital preservation focus leads us to always follow the most prudent and low risk approach when investing client capital, especially in areas which carry tax risk
- Westbrooke’s proprietary investment structuring provides an investment structure which is fully compliant with applicable legislation relating to the marketing of financial products in South Africa
- Supported by a dedicated and highly qualified internal Westbrooke investment team and an independent, non-executive investment committee which includes relevant industry experts
- Westbrooke Real has built exclusive relationships with 5 best of breed operating partners (an additional 2 in the pipeline) who invest their own capital materially alongside Westbrooke Real investors
- These partners represent experienced and reputable industry experts whose businesses were in operation before the introduction of the Section 12BA incentive
- Partners are spread geographically across South Africa and each focus on a different industry subset (residential, agriculture, commercial, etc.), providing Westbrooke Real investors with diversification and access to the highest quality pipeline
- In the FY24 vintage, Westbrooke successfully invested north of R180 million across 45 projects alongside 5 exclusive operating partners (with another 2 in the pipeline)
- This was then supported by an initial R100 million FY25 capital raise which was exclusively offered to FY24 investors
- Westbrooke Real benefits from a pre-agreed project pipeline of R200 million and an additional R150 million+ in term sheets with existing partners, for implementation prior to the conclusion of the 28 February 2025 tax year
how it works
1
Invest in Westbrooke Real before the 12 September deadline by committing a minimum of R1 million in cash
2
Thereafter, Westbrooke Real will draw 100% of your capital from you and invest this capital in a portfolio of underlying solar PV projects
3
If you are a provisional taxpayer, you will complete your 28 February 2025 tax return before the end of February 2025 and claim your Section 12B / BA deduction at this stage
4
If you are a PAYE earner, you will complete your tax return when individual tax filing season opens (normally in July each year) and claim your tax refund at this stage
Westbrooke Real uses gearing in the portfolio in order to enhance the 100% / 125% Section 12B / BA deduction to up to 200% of your cash invested. This is achieved through the investor providing a limited recourse guarantee for their pro rata share of the debt, which allows the Section 12B / BA deduction to be claimed on the full investment amount including gearing.
| Amount | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash invested (A) | R1,200,000 | Drawn down in increments during the FY25 tax year |
| Project level debt | R800,000 | This example assumes a conservative 40% project level debt. This may be up to 60% based on project specific considerations, which would further enhance the tax deduction |
| Total investment | R2,000,000 | |
| Section 12B / BA deduction | 125% | In terms of Section 12B, “second hand” projects acquired qualify for a 100% tax deduction and “new” projects qualify for a 125% tax deduction. It is possible that this deduction might be less depending on the proportion of new vs second hand projects acquired |
| Tax deduction | R2,500,000 | |
| Individual tax rate | 45% | Assuming a natural person paying tax at the maximum marginal tax rate |
| Indicative tax refund (B) | R1,125,000 | |
| Percentage initial investment covered by SARS refund | 94% | Calculated as B / A |
meet our partners
track record
R240m
successfully invested
48
Solar PV projects
14MW
taken off the grid
5
specialist solar partners
portfolio
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