The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) has loaned £190m to the Greater London Authority’s (GLA’s) Green Finance Fund (GFF).
Launched in 2023, the GFF will provide £500m of funding for green initiatives, with all 32 London boroughs eligible to apply. The fund aims to assist projects delivering benefits in either efficiency, clean transport or renewable energy.
According to the UKIB, its cornerstone loan to the GFF will help the GLA deliver London’s 2030 net zero target and means that a wider range of projects can access funding to help tackle climate change.
The GFF aims to accelerate decarbonisation across the capital by lowering the cost of borrowing for eligible public sector bodies, which alongside local authorities includes organisations in the GLA Group, social housing providers, NHS bodies, universities and colleges.
Lorna Pimlott, the UKIB’s managing director, local authority advisor and lending, said: “I hope our loan to the GFF also provides a model for how we can help other areas across the UK. We are keen to hear other local authorities planning similar initiatives.”
The UKIB added that its loan to the GFF will give the bank a blueprint through which to replicate similar schemes with other local authorities across the UK.
Currently, the UKIB’s local authority function offers borrowing for council infrastructure projects at gilts + 40bps, lower than the lending rate of the Public Works Loan Board.
The news of the UKIB’s loan to the GFF also comes as the green financing framework received an “excellent” Second-Party Opinion by Sustainable Fitch.
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