Green Investment Bank sold to Macquarie

Green Investment Bank is to be sold by the Government to Australian firm Macquarie for £2.3bn.

The bank, which was launched in 2012, will keep its brand and its employees in London and Edinburgh.

According to the Government, the sale will mean that all taxpayer-funded investment in the bank, including set-up costs, has been returned with a profit.

But the deal has provoked an angry reaction from some campaigners and politicians - with former energy secretary Sir Ed Davey describing the sale as "environmentally irresponsible and politically dubious".

Sky News reported in February that plans were being drawn up between Macquarie and the Government for the sale of the bank.

Lord Smith of Kelvin, independent chairman of the Green Investment Bank, said the board had backed the privatisation - seeing it as the best way of securing a long-term future and growing its green impact.

He said: "There is a compelling logic in the world's first green bank joining forces with the world's largest infrastructure investor.

"When we embarked on this process, we were determined to find a new owner who would build on GIB's successful history - an owner who would have access to deep pools of capital, a commitment to expand GIB's activities, and a respect for the unique role GIB has played in the market.

"Macquarie will bring all of this to GIB, along with its own impressive track record of green investments."

Set up by the coalition government, the GIB owns stakes in a large portfolio of projects, including energy-efficient street lighting, wind farms and biomass plants.

Launched with £3.8bn of public funding, it has committed more than £2.5bn to 70 projects, including £35m to a renewable power facility in Tilbury, Essex, and £240m to Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm near the Norfolk coast.

That public funding has been supplemented by £6bn of private capital, reinforcing the GIB's status as one of the largest green-focused investment institutions in the world.

Under the new owners, at least £3bn will be invested in the green economy over the next three years, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

David Fass, chief executive of the Macquarie Group (Dusseldorf: 4M4.DU - news) , said: "The addition of the Green Investment Bank, its people and expertise, strengthens Macquarie's commitment to the green energy sector.

"Our combined platform will build on the legacy of the Green Investment Bank and, alongside our knowledge of energy and infrastructure, will open further opportunities in low carbon investment both in the UK and further afield."

But Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace, was not convinced - describing the sale as "a disaster".

He warned: "The hole left by the Green Investment Bank will slow our transition to a clean energy system, set us back on reaching our climate targets, and mean more of the jobs from new sectors will go elsewhere."