Macquarie Asset Management led consortium divests Race Bank stake

Macquarie Asset Management, via Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5, and Spring Infrastructure 1 Investment Limited Partnership, a fund managed by Spring Infrastructure Capital Co., Ltd.¹, have reached an agreement to divest a 37.5 per cent stake in Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm to Norges Bank Investment Management for approximately £330 million.

Located approximately 27-kilometres off the Norfolk coast, Race Bank is comprised of 91 6.3-MW turbines. Operational since 2018, the offshore wind farm is capable of generating 573 MW of electricity, powering the equivalent of more than 510,000 UK homes annually.²

A Macquarie Capital and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 consortium acquired a 50 per cent stake in Race Bank during the construction phase in 2016. Macquarie Capital divested its 25 per cent stake in Race Bank in 2017.

Jonathan Duffy, a Managing Director at MAM 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. Macquarie Group and its partners are also supporting the development of the next generation of projects, including the 2 GW West of Orkney, 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing, 1.2 GW Rampion 2, and 353 MW Five Estuaries offshore wind farms.³

Macquarie Group has been investing in the UK’s offshore wind sector for more than a decade and is one of the largest investors in the sector, having helped finance projects and supporting infrastructure representing approximately 50 per cent of the UK’s operational offshore wind capacity.^4,5

The terms of the transaction imply an equity value of approximately £880 million on a 100 per cent basis. The transaction has now reached financial close.

1. Fund management company jointly established by Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Development Bank of Japan
2. Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm. Ørsted, 2018.
3. The West of Orkney and Outer Dowsing offshore wind farms are being developed by Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group operating on a standalone basis.
4. 6,884 MW of projects supported as at 30 November 2023. Calculation based on installed capacity of projects and associated infrastructure (e.g. transmission) in which Macquarie entities have held equity or debt investments. MW reflects 100% generating capacity of each asset, not the proportion owned or managed by Macquarie
5. 13,666 MW of operational offshore wind capacity, ‘Offshore Wind Report’, Crown Estate, 2022