According to GIB, it has committed £635m to 11 projects worth a total of £2.3bn. This has resulted in a funding ratio of £3 mobilised from the private sector for every £1 pledged by GIB. Provisional results indicate that these projects will save over 2.5m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking around 1m cars off UK roads.
Green Investment Bank chief executive, Shaun Kingsbury, said: “This represents an excellent level of activity and shows the impact we can have in helping the UK towards a greener economy. We are essentially a start-up and have a long road ahead of us as we build an enduring bank, but we’ve hit the ground running. Our mission goes beyond simply investing our own funds; our job is to crowd-in money from other sources. I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to bring in almost £3 of private funding for every £1 we have committed.”
UK government business secretary, Vince Cable, added: “After only five months in operation, the Green Investment Bank is already punching above its weight. Today’s results are a pleasing start for this groundbreaking institution. They show that the Bank is doing precisely what we set it up to do – draw in and not shut out private sector capital.”