King & Wood Mallesons have advised the UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) and its FCA regulated subsidiary, UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Limited (GIBFS), on the £463 million first closing of its planned £1 billion fund to invest in operating offshore wind farms in the UK.

The fund is an innovative, first-of-a-kind transaction. It is the world’s first fund dedicated to investments in offshore wind power generation and, when fully subscribed, will be the largest renewables fund in the UK. The fund has an expected life of 25 years, allowing a new class of long-term investor to enter the sector.

King & Wood Mallesons advised GIB in connection with all aspects of the establishment of the fund, including on fund structuring, regulatory, tax and corporate aspects.

This follows on from King & Wood Mallesons assisting GIB with the recent successful launch of The Recycling and Waste LP (RAW) fund backed by GIB and managed by the Foresight group, which targets investments in smaller-scale recycling and waste projects across the UK.

Karl Smith, Fund Managing Director, UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Ltd, said: “This successful first close reflects investor confidence in the UK offshore wind sector’s ability to generate strong returns and in GIBFS’s ability to source, execute on and manage offshore wind investments on their behalf.

“The fund gives GIB a new opportunity to create value for its investors through active asset management, leveraging its deep industry insight, relationships and significant capital base.”

Ajay Pathak, International Funds Partner at King & Wood Mallesons, said: “This fund has been innovative in a number of respects as it represents GIB’s first step into asset management and is the first ever fund dedicated to offshore wind assets. The first close marks a significant milestone and we are pleased to have been able to bring together the combined expertise within the firm in the renewable energy and infrastructure funds sector to assist GIB in achieving this milestone.”

The King & Wood Mallesons team was led by International Funds partner Ajay Pathak with associates Tom Audritt and Robert Mailer; Tax partner Laura Charkin with associate Charlotte Haywood; Financial Markets partner Gregg Beechey; Corporate partner Joseph Newitt with associate Michaela Moore and Finance partner Robert Andrews.

This follows the International Funds team’s recent work advising PAI Partners on the structuring of its sixth fund, PAI Europe VI which held a final close of €3.3 billion.