- Overview
- Investment highlights
- What is 12B
- Why invest
- Investment team
- How it works
- Our track record
- Our partners
- Portfolio overview
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fund overview
Westbrooke 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 have 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 165% tax deduction in the year of investment.
FY2023/24 FY2024/25 Tranche 1 FY2024/25 Tranche 2 Launch date Aug-23 Aug-24 Dec-24 Total committed equity / client capital R105M R68M R127M Fund type / structure en-Commandite partnership en-Commandite partnership en-Commandite partnership Regulation Section 12B of Income Tax Act Section 12B of Income Tax Act Section 12B of Income Tax Act Number of solar projects 45 15 28 Number of partners 5 2 6 Tax deduction achieved 169% 205% 192% -
key investment highlights
Up to 165% tax-deductible in the year of investment
Partnering with established and reputable renewable energy operators who are materially invested alongside Westbrooke investors
Equating to c.65% – 75% of your cash invested being returned in year one, de-risking investors upfront
Partnering with SARS to address SA’s electricity crisis
Targeted investment IRR of 30% p.a. (pre-tax) and 15% p.a. (post all taxes) */**
Projected average net cash yield of 12% – 14% p.a. (pre-tax) and 5% – 7% p.a. (post all taxes) **
Investment alongside Westbrooke – SA’s largest tax-enhanced private market investment manager
Minimum investment of R1 million in cash (equating to a tax deduction of up to R1.6 million)
* Assumes the investor is an individual/trust that pays tax at the maximum marginal tax rate of 45%
** The base case modelling and financial projections are for illustrative purposes only and are not a guarantee of future performance. Variability in the base case returns are influenced by various factors including but not limited to, Gearing level, portfolio composition, operational performance and no unforeseen events. Investors should be aware that the actual performance of Westbrooke Real 2026 may vary from the projections presented. This document also includes a downside case model as an annexure to illustrate potential variability in financial projections under certain assumptions and conditions. Both the base case and downside case financial projections are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not represent guaranteed outcomes. Actual returns may vary significantly and may be lower than those presented in the downside case model. Investors should not rely solely on the financial projections when making investment decisions and must carefully review the risk factors outlined in this document.
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what is Section 12B
Section 12B is a provision of the South African Income Tax Act which offers favourable tax incentives to businesses that invest in renewable energy.
The section provides for an accelerated write-off of qualifying assets used in the production of renewable energy. The assets must be used by a taxpayer for the purpose of trade. The deduction is spread over three years: 50% of the cost in the first year, 30% in the second, and 20% in the third. An exception is made for photovoltaic (PV) solar energy not exceeding 1MW, which is fully deductible in the first year of expenditure.
Through Westbrooke’s proprietary structure, this incentive has been made available to individual taxpayers.
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why invest in S12B with Westbrooke
SA’s largest tax enhanced private market manager- Since 2016, Westbrooke has successfully raised and invested over R4 billion in tax enhanced investments (Section 12J and Section 12B).
- Over R2.8 billion of this has been returned to clients, achieving average annualised post-tax internal rates of return (IRRs) of 12% – 14% p.a.
- More than 100 underlying investments made in the Tax Enhanced Investing asset class since inception
- Founder and Chair of the previous Section 12J Industry Association – leading the industry engagement process with SARS
Deeply experienced investment team and partner set- 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 7 best-of-breed operating partners, 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 12B 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
Conservative approach to tax-enhanced investing- 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
Proven track record investing in renewable energy projects- The Westbrooke Real portfolio now consists of 78 projects with R590m deployed alongside 7 operating partners and a total of 30MW taken off the grid
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investment team
Saul Maserow
Nox Mlalazi
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how the project level gearing works
Westbrooke Real may use gearing in the portfolio at a future date to further de-risk your investment and return a portion of capital which will result in an enhanced 12B deduction on 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 deduction to be claimed on the full investment amount including gearing.
Amount Notes Cash invested (A) R1m Drawn by Westbrooke Real 2026 through a single capital call (i.e. not multiple draw downs) and thereafter deployed into the presecured projects over the 2026 tax year. Gearing at a project level R0.6m Will vary depending on the specific underlying project considerations.
(Illustrative example of 40%, which is the target base case model.)Section 12B deduction 100% In terms of Section 12B, new and existing projects of under 1MW acquired qualify for a 100% tax deduction. Upfront Tax deduction R1.6m Assuming Cash Invested is deployed Tax Deduction Percentage 160% Calculated as B / A Individual tax rate 45% Assuming a natural person paying tax at the maximum marginal tax rate Tax break (C) R0.72m Percentage initial investment covered by SARS refund 72% Calculated as C / A -
Successfully invested (total project value)
R m
Solar PV projects
Taken off the grid
MW
Specialist solar partner
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meet our operating partners
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portfolio overview
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