UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Limited (GIBFS) has announced that it executed a Second Close on new commitments of £355m for the Offshore Wind Fund, bringing total committed capital to £818m and nearing its £1bn target.
This makes the GIBFS-managed fund the largest renewable energy fund in the UK.
Second close investors include Swedish life insurance and pension company AMF Pensionsförsäkring AB (AMF) and Strathclyde Pension Fund. The Fund represents their first investments in the UK offshore wind sector.
Second close investors join UK-based pension funds, a major sovereign wealth fund and UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) in the partnership, which held an initial close on £463m earlier this year.
The Fund is the first to be dedicated solely to investments in offshore wind power generation globally and provides long-term institutional investors with the opportunity to access the UK’s green infrastructure sector.
The second close has been marked with the acquisition by the fund of GIB’s option on a 10% stake in Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm. The 576 MW wind farm – located in Liverpool Bay – was officially inaugurated in June of this year.
The Fund now has three assets: Rhyl Flats, Sheringham Shoal and Gwynt y Môr. These three offshore wind farms are able to produce 2,980 GWh of renewable energy annually, enough to power more than 700,000 homes or all the homes in Northern Ireland.
On completion of the Gwynt y Môr acquisition, more than half of the Fund’s capital will be invested in income-generating assets.
Amber Rudd, Energy and Climate Change Secretary , said: “Offshore wind has been a UK success story and I welcome this long-term, private sector involvement in what is now the largest renewable energy fund in the UK. This demonstrates how we are open for business and the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind.”
Karl Smith, Fund Managing Director, UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Limited , said: “This second successful round of fundraising highlights the growing confidence that home-grown and international investors have in well-developed and well-managed offshore wind assets in the UK. We are in advanced discussions with other potential investors and progressing quickly towards final close and reaching our £1bn target.”
Evercore Private Funds Group is acting as advisor and exclusive global placement agent for the fundraise and King & Wood Mallesons is acting a legal counsel to the fund.
Image: GIB