Investment principles

Support the government's growth and clean energy missions.

Be intended to deliver a positive financial return for the Exchequer.

Be expected to crowd in significant private capital over time.

To note, only the first two will apply to local authority lending.

Eligibility does not guarantee that we will be able to provide financing. Assessment against the principles is just one part of our decision-making process.   

We will target sectors where there are opportunities for us to make a real difference, bringing together the public and private sectors to mobilise finance while delivering a positive financial return for the taxpayer. 

The minimum ticket size for private investments is £25 million, and they typically exceed £100 million.  

Where an investment is primarily to support local and regional economic growth, we will ensure that it does not do significant harm against our climate objective.   

We do not invest in projects involving extraction, production, transportation and refining of crude oil, natural gas or thermal coal with very limited exemptions.  

• These exemptions include projects improving efficiency, health and safety and environmental standards (without substantially increasing the lifetime of assets), for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) where projects will significantly reduce emissions over the lifetime of the asset, or those supporting the decommissioning of existing fossil fuel assets.  
• We will also not support any fossil-fuel fired power plants, unless part of an integrated natural gas-fuelled CCS or CCUS generation asset. This policy will be updated over time to reflect changes in government policy and regulatory standards.   

We do not bail out companies in distress.