In a letter to energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng, Macquarie has confirmed that it has surpassed its £3 billion investment target.
This was set when Macquarie acquired the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) in 2017, forming the Green Investment Group (GIG). Since this, the GIG has invested or arranged a total of £4.7 billion in green energy projects in the UK and Europe, with £6.9 billion invested globally.
The £2.3 billion sale – which was the subject of some controversy, including an unsuccessful legal challenge – saw Macquarie agree to a number of commitments. These included maintaining GIB’s purpose of investing in low carbon projects in line with special share agreements – with its constructive working relationship with the holder of the special share the Green Purposes Company reaffirmed in the letter – as well as maintaining the GIB platform and brand while retaining existing employees in Edinburgh and London among others.
According to Macquarie, the GIG now has over 450 people operating in over 25 markets, triple the number of staff who joined with the GIB on acquisition. The investor also confirmed that no proposal has been made to change the green purposes.
In the letter, Daniel Wong, global co-head of Macquarie Capital and chair of the GIG, described it as now being “one of the world’s leading renewable energy developers and investors”.
“It has remained true to its original mission, continues to be led from the UK and its green purposes remain enshrined in its legal constitution and culture,” he continued, adding that the GIG and Macquarie are looking forward to “playing our part in helping the UK meet its net zero ambitions” as well as supporting COP26.
Examples given for how the GIG has met its commitments include investments in onshore wind, offshore wind, energy from waste, biomass and solar, as well as emerging technologies including floating offshore wind, energy storage and hydrogen.
It continues to be led from the UK, publishes an annual report on its green performance and has established three new investment vehicles – an offshore wind investment vehicle, a low carbon lending platform and a green infrastructure investment platform.