The EQT Infrastructure V fund is to acquire rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging firm InstaVolt from Zouk Capital, marking the latest EV charging network to change hands.
The transaction sees founding investor Zouk Capital – which manages the £420 million Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund – exit in full after establishing the company with the InstaVolt management team in 2016.
EQT Infrastructure said it is committed to investing significantly to accelerate InstaVolt’s expansion of chargepoints in the UK in support of the company’s goal of rolling out 10,000 rapid EV chargers by 2032. In the shorter term, InstaVolt is aiming to hit 1,000 rapid chargers this summer.
InstaVolt currently operates rapid charging infrastructure through its nationwide network of around 700 chargepoints. It predominantly installs chargepoints at retail, food, beverage and forecourt sites, with current partners including McDonald’s, Costa Coffee, Booths and KFC.
Late last year it was ranked as the most popular public EV charging network in a survey of Zap-Map users, with MFG EV Power and Osprey taking second and third place respectively.
However, InstaVolt also raised its prices last year as a result of the high wholesale costs, with this followed by similar increases from the likes of GRIDSERVE and bp pulse.
Adrian Keen, InstaVolt’s chief executive officer, said: “InstaVolt has set a standard in the UK for driver experience and infrastructure, and now with support from EQT, we are in a unique position to accelerate that target and replicate our model in other geographies, transitioning the business into the next phase of growth.”
It follows a number of EV charging acquisitions in recent years, including the acquisition of Elmtronics by Mer, Franklin EV by RAW Charging, the Electric Highway by GRIDSERVE and ubitricity by Shell.
Massimo Resta, partner at Zouk Capital, said the company believes InstaVolt’s management team is in “great hands”. In 2019, InstaVolt became the first company to receive investment from the CIIF, which consists of funding raised from the public sector that is then matched by the government.
Since then, the CIIF has also invested in a new public EV charging company named Zest, as well as char.gy and a joint venture between Zouk and Virgin Media owner Liberty Global looking to rollout on-street residential chargers using Virgin Media’s infrastructure.
The EQT Infrastructure V fund, meanwhile, is a fund from global investment organisation EQT specialising in infrastructure companies which provide essential services to society.
With this transaction, EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 65-70% invested.