nuclear-news

 Ministers prepare to reduce UK stake in Sizewell C nuclear project.

Under changes to investors, Brookfield dropped in favour of Canadian pension fund
and London-based investment manager. Ministers are preparing to reduce the
UK government’s stake in Sizewell C by more than expected, after a
last-minute move to change the roster of private investors in the
multibillion-pound nuclear project.

Canadian investment manager Brookfield
had been expected to take a 25 per cent stake in the Suffolk development as
recently as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter. The
proposed deal would have made the firm the biggest single investor in the
project — part of a push by ministers to use nuclear power to ease
Britain’s transition away from fossil fuels — with British Gas owner
Centrica taking 15 per cent and French energy giant EDF holding 12.5 per
cent.

But the government in recent days moved to drop Brookfield in favour
of selling a larger stake to a combination of Canadian pension fund La
Caisse and London-based investment manager Amber Infrastructure, the people
said. Two of the people said Brookfield had been angered by the decision,
which was first reported by Les Echos. La Caisse will now take a 20 per
cent stake in Sizewell and Amber will take a 10 per cent stake, according
to the people, while the stakes of Centrica and EDF are unchanged.

The increased private investor stake means the UK government will own 42.5 per
cent of the project, which is set to cost £38bn, down from 47.5 per cent
under previous plans. The government currently owns about 84 per cent of
the project. Ministers are set to announce the final investment decision on
Tuesday in a rush to seal the long-awaited deal before parliament’s
summer recess.

Energy bill payers will pay back the investors via a
surcharge on bills under the structure used to develop the scheme, known as
the “Regulated Asset Base” model.

Energy bill payers will pay back the investors via a surcharge on bills under the structure used to develop the scheme, known as
the “Regulated Asset Base” model.

 FT 21st July 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/4ae7842c-df91-41c3-a7a0-5b626f6cb6d9

July 24, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized