The Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF) has now reached a total of £380 million – half of which is government funding – following its third close.
This close was anchored from the private sector by Willis Towers Watson’s clients and investment funds and Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Fund.
The CIIF – which is managed by Zouk Capital – is a government-backed fund announced in 2018, with the intention of raising £200 million from the private sector that would then be matched by government funding to support the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
The first investment came from UAE renewables investment group Masdar, with its £35 million matched to take it to £70 million. A further £40 million was raised in April 2020, which was anchored by the Church Commissioners for England and then matched by HM Treasury. This took the amount of deployable capital up to £150 million.
The first to benefit from the fund was Instavolt, which sparked concerns due to Zouk Capital being the largest shareholder in the company. However, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority assured that there was no conflict of interest in the choice and that due diligence had been conducted.
In May 2020, it was announced that Zouk Capital had formed a joint venture with Liberty Global Ventures to rollout on-street residential EV chargers, with the project to receive funding from the CIIF.
The fund is now targeting a final close in early 2021, with a total of £20 million outstanding before reaching the £400 million target.
Samer Salty, managing partner at Zouk Capital, lauded how leading global investors continue to be attracted to the CIIF “in spite of the ongoing challenging business environment”, adding that both Willis Towers Watson and Morgan Stanley Investment Management share Zouk’s belief in the “commercial opportunity in electric vehicle infrastructure”.
