Funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management and Spring Infrastructure Capital have opted to divest a 37.5% stake in the Race Bank offshore wind farm to Norges Bank Investment Management.
The stake in the 573 MW offshore wind farm, located some 27 km off the Norfolk Coast, was sold to the manager of Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund for £330m ($420m). The value of the entire wind farm is set at around £880m on a 100 per cent basis. The transaction has reached a financial close.
Race Bank is comprised of 91 6.3MW turbines and has been operational since 2018. The offshore wind farm is powering the equivalent of more than 510,000 UK homes annually.
A Macquarie Capital and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 consortium acquired a 50% stake in Race Bank during the construction phase in 2016. Macquarie Capital divested its 25% stake in Race Bank in 2017.
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.
Macquarie Group and its partners are also supporting the development of the next generation of projects, including the 2GW West of Orkney, 1.5GW Outer Dowsing, 1.2GW Rampion 2, and 353MW Five Estuaries offshore wind farms.
The company has helped finance projects and is supporting infrastructure representing approximately 50% of the UK’s operational offshore wind capacity.
