A total of £80 million has been committed to two specialist fund managers to make and manage investments in small-scale waste infrastructure by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
All BIS investments made by the fund manager will be match funded leveraging in at least £80 million more to the projects.
The Government is investing directly on fully commercial terms, ahead of obtaining state aid approval for the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB).
An initial fund of £50 million will be managed by Foresight Group and an initial fund of £30 million by Greensphere Capital. The maximum amount of individual investments is not likely to exceed £15 million.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “These investments are a landmark moment. They represent a great opportunity to unlock substantial commercial investment in green technologies and infrastructure. The Government has committed to setting the UK firmly on course towards a green and growing economy and today is another important step in that direction.
“Investing directly now shows that we are not just sitting on our hands while we wait for the UK Green Investment Bank to receive state aid approval.”
Foresight Group partner and head of environment Andrew Page added: “We have established a position as a leader in environmental investing with a long-term commitment to the sector.
“We are delighted to have been selected by UKGI to invest in UK companies utilising proven technologies to support the development of the waste sector, making the most of the valuable resources within the waste streams, contributing to achieving the UK’s environmental targets and creating a substantial number of jobs across the country.”
