Green Investment Bank to be based in Edinburgh and London
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has welcomed the news the Green Investment Bank will be headquartered in Edinburgh.
The Business Secretary Vince Cable announced today (8 March) that the first ever UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be based in Edinburgh and London.
The headquarters of the GIB will be located in Edinburgh, with the GIB’s main transaction team based in London. This arrangement will enable a greater commercial reach nationally than could be achieved from one location.
Sitting the bank across these two locations will enable the GIB to become a world leader, playing to the strengths of Edinburgh and London.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Harnessing the strengths of Edinburgh and London will support the Green Investment Bank’s ambition to become a world leader. Edinburgh has a thriving green sector and respected expertise in areas such as asset management. London, as the world’s leading financial centre, will ensure that the GIB’s transaction team can hit the ground running.
“This decision will allow the GIB to operate effectively and achieve its mission of mobilising the additional investment needed to accelerate the UK’s transition to a green economy.”
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore welcomed the news, commenting: “I am delighted that the Green Investment Bank will be headquartered in Edinburgh. Scotland has enormous green energy potential and its capital is the UK’s second biggest financial centre.
“The size and scale of the UK’s single energy market ensures the level of investment that will unlock Scotland’s renewables future, providing sustainable and affordable green energy across the UK. It makes perfect sense to have a GIB presence there.
“By basing the GIB’s corporate HQ, asset management and administrative functions in Edinburgh and its transaction team in London, we can harness expertise across the country to deliver a strong and successful GIB for the UK.”
The next step for the GIB is the recruitment of the Chair and Senior Independent Director so that it will be in a position to be fully operational this Autumn, subject to state aid approval for the GIB. The GIB is expected to employ 50-70 full time equivalent staff across the two sites.
An assessment of the applications from 32 locations across the UK found that Edinburgh and London were the two leading candidates. The decision document, together with all the submissions from the 32 locations that put in a bid to host the Green Investment Bank (GIB), can be found at www.bis.gov.uk/giblocation
The criteria for deciding on a location said that it should:
- be able to recruit and retain the specialist staff needed to run the organisation;
- enable the GIB to work closely with other parties involved in deals as well as other investment bodies, project developers and green technology providers, and;
- ensure that the GIB is cost effective.
-The GIB is designed to accelerate private sector investment in the UK’s transition to a green economy. Offshore wind power generation, commercial and industrial waste processing and recycling, energy from waste generation, non-domestic energy efficiency and support for the Green Deal will be the first priority sectors for the GIB, subject to approval by the European Commission.
- The Government is committed to setting the UK firmly on course towards a green and growing economy. The transition to a green economy presents significant growth opportunities for UK-based businesses, both at home and abroad. This progression requires unprecedented investment in key green sectors. An estimated investment of up to £200 billion in the energy system alone is needed over the period to 2020. The GIB will be uniquely placed to facilitate the transition to a green economy base by addressing the market failures affecting green infrastructure projects. These failures have led to significant under investment in the key areas required to deliver this transition. Capitalised with £3 billion, the GIB will complement other green policies to help accelerate additional capital in green infrastructure.