Infrastructure funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management and Spring Infrastructure Capital have sold their 37.5% interest in a 573MW UK offshore wind farm to Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) for £330m (€355m), including the assumption of £644m of debt.
The investment manager of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has acquired Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5’s 25% stake and Spring Infrastructure 1 Investment Limited Partnership’s 12.5% interest in Race Bank, an operational wind farm located off the Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast.
The deal makes the manager of the NOK16trn (€1.39trn) Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global the second largest shareholder in Race Bank after 50% owner Ørsted, with Arjun Infrastructure Partners holding a 12.5% stake in the wind farm valued at £2.6bn including debt.
A consortium comprising Macquarie Capital and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 acquired a 50% interest in Race Bank during the construction phase in 2016. Macquarie Capital divested its 25% stake in Race Bank in 2017, the year before the project reached commercial operations.
Jonathan Duffy, managing director at Macquarie Asset Management Green Investments, said: “Supporting Race Bank from construction into its successful operations has been a great journey.
“With Race Bank now producing electricity for more than half a million UK homes, it has become a significant contributor to the ongoing decarbonisation of the UK’s electricity system.”
Following this transaction, funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management will continue to manage stakes in the Gwynt y Môr, Sheringham Shoal, Lincs, Lynn, Inner Dowsing, Rhyl Flats and East Anglia One offshore wind farms.
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