London, 17 July 2024
Macquarie Asset Management has announced that it intends to acquire, via its managed funds, an additional 39.25 per cent stake in the Lynn and Inner Dowsing offshore wind farms from funds managed by BlackRock.
Lynn and Inner Dowsing are located off the coast of Lincolnshire. Operational since 2009, the adjacent offshore wind farms have a combined installed capacity of approximately 194 MW and generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 160,000 UK homes each year1.
Macquarie GIG Renewable Energy Fund 1 acquired a 60.75 per cent stake in Lynn and Inner Dowsing in 2016. This transaction, via Macquarie GIG Renewable Energy Fund 2 and a Macquarie Asset Management Private Wealth Fund, will increase Macquarie Asset Management’s stake in the wind farms to 100 per cent.
Jonathan Duffy, a Managing Director at MAM Green Investments, said: “Delivered as part of the Renewables Obligation scheme, Lynn and Inner Dowsing helped lay the groundwork for the UK’s leadership positions today in the energy transition and offshore wind sectors. Ensuring the successful operation of these projects into the future, alongside the continued scaling-up of offshore wind capacity, will be key to meeting the UK’s energy security ambitions and we are proud to be supporting this journey.”
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.2,3
Funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management 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.4
Macquarie Capital is acting as the exclusive financial adviser to Macquarie Asset Management. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
1. Estimated equivalent number of homes powered provided by MAM Green Analytics, based on country-specific electricity household consumption data (Enerdata, 2022).
2. Approximately 6,884 MW of projects supported as at 30 March 2024. 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.
3. ~14,700 MW of total operational offshore wind capacity, ‘Offshore Wind Report’, Crown Estate, 2023.
4. 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.