The Australian infrastructure company blamed for the Thames Water crisis is planning £20 Billion of new investment in the UK, as the Labour government attempts to attract international investors to fuel economic growth.
Macquarie will invest the money over the next five-year period in the UK’s waste, water, energy and transport sectors as well as the construction of data centres. Macquarie will invest in the largest solar farm in the UK and hundreds of fast-charging electric vehicle points.
The announcement is a welcome relief for Prime Minister Sir Keir starmer as well as chancellor Rachel Reeves, as the flagship investment summit that took place this week could have been overshadowed if reports had surfaced that a major Dubai Investor was considering pulling out due to an extraordinary dispute.
Last Wednesday, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh was reported to have angered DP World after attacking its subsidiary P&O Ferries for sacking 800 British workers in 2022 and replacing them by cheaper agency staff.
DP World was reported to have withdrawn from the International Investment Summit and also canceled a £1billion investment in London Gateway. DP World confirmed Saturday, however, that it will be attending the summit following “positive and productive” discussions with the government.
Macquarie’s Shemara Wikamanayake will be a part of a panel discussion on decarbonisation in the energy sector, which will include Jonathan Brearley of Ofgem and Paula Rosput Reynolds, National Grid Chair.
Macquarie’s announcement could prove controversial, given that it owns Thames Water, Britain’s largest water company. Thames Water is currently scrambling to stay afloat after was overwhelmed by its debts.
Macquarie purchased a 48 percent stake in the company in 2006 before selling it out completely in 2017. Macquarie’s time as a shareholder saw it extract £879m in dividends, and the debt burden of the water company increased from £6bn to £11bn. Macquarie stated that the investment per Thames Water client was 1.5 times higher than the previous private sector owners and 2.5 times greater than when the company was publically owned.
Martin Bradley, European & Middle East Infrastructure Head at Macquarie Asset Management admitted: “It is not lost on me… for a long time we used the words ‘no comment’. We don’t always convey our message as clearly [or] concisely as we could.”
Macquarie owns assets in the UK that employ 35,000 people. It has invested £60billion there since 1999. The Australian company plans to invest £220m on 650 fast-charging EV points in sites operated by Roadchef. Mark Fox, the Roadchef boss, said that this investment would ensure that there will be more than enough EV fast-charging points until 2030.
Macquarie also invested in the Cottam Solar farm, located on either side the Lincolnshire-Nottinghamshire border. This solar farm will produce enough electricity to supply 180,000 homes. Last month, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband approved the 2,800-acre development.
Bradley said, “Across the UK we are digging and developing with spades in hand.”
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