Empowering sustainable estates: Birchwood Park decarbonises at scale with solar PV

Birchwood Park, the North West’s leading out-of-town business destination, has become one of the UK’s best examples of what’s possible when a commercial industrial estate commits to clean-energy transformation.

Home to over one hundred and sixty-five businesses, it has successfully commissioned a series of five rooftop solar PV systems funded by SMS (formerly Horizon Energy Ventures). This completed the rollout of the project on time and on budget with our expert partners, Perfect Sense Energy and GreenHearth.

The project was carried out without upfront capital expenditure across multiple buildings with complex ownership structures. It began as a single building initiative but quickly evolved into a broader programme, with several buildings across the park proving suitable for rooftop solar installations. Each site contributes to a growing clean energy footprint already benefiting both the landlord, occupiers and the environment.

Across five solar PV systems, Birchwood Park is expected to generate 360,194 kWh and deliver over £70,000 of electricity savings in its first year. The savings exceed the annual rentals, meaning the project is forecast to be cash positive from Year 1.

The successful energisation demonstrates how tailored funding and collaborative partnerships can overcome complex ownership structures to deliver impactful results and enable estates to decarbonise at scale.

Birchwood Park’s core objectives were to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs for occupiers from day one. Working with Perfect Sense Energy, a robust technical solution was developed for five buildings at the heart of the park. Perfect Sense Energy introduced GreenHearth, a specialist arranger of finance for solar projects, to undertake the economic and financial analysis.

GreenHearth approached a range of potential funders for the proposed system to identify the best solution for the customer. We were able to offer a compelling and competitive finance solution and had the expertise to work with the complex ownership structure of the park and its buildings to ensure success.

Leveraging our proven finance lease model, we’re funding the full cost of the rooftop solar installation. The model offered Birchwood Park:

• No upfront capital investment.
• Predictable, fixed rental payments over the contract term.
• Stage payments to the supplier allow for working capital provisions.
• Long-term resilience and cost certainty.

This financing approach lowered barriers to adoption and supported Birchwood Park’s broader sustainability ambitions.

The approach to Birchwood Park provides a replicable blueprint for other estates and stands as a strong example of the viability of financed solar PV implementation across commercial property portfolios, strengthening ESG credentials and long-term energy cost reduction and resilience.

The project underlines how flexible finance, trusted partnerships, and strategic vision can empower commercial estates to move decisively toward net-zero.

In parallel, Birchwood Park and our partners are exploring further rollout opportunities across the estate.

The replicable model proven here will also be applied to similar portfolio-level projects across other commercial and leisure sites, establishing a clear blueprint for scalable, low-carbon estate transformation.

• Birchwood Park: A leading hub for sustainability and innovation, this Warrington-based destination is the UK’s largest out-of-town business hub, home to more than 165 companies and 6,000 employees, from start-ups to global corporates. It is owned by Warrington Borough Council and managed by Patrizia and CBRE.

• Perfect Sense Energy: A specialist commercial and industrial solar PV EPC contractor.

• GreenHearth: A leading arranger of finance for commercial solar and other projects supporting the energy transition.

We specialise in funding low-carbon energy assets, from solar and EV infrastructure to heat pumps and battery storage. Working closely with our partners, we empower businesses to adopt low-carbon solutions. If your estate is ready to decarbonise, our team is here to help.

View all case studies