UK Nuclear Plant Sizewell Continues Fundraising Before Election

William Mathis
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- The developer of the UK’s Sizewell C nuclear power plant is pushing ahead to complete financing for the project this year even as a looming election risks complicating the timeline.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A group of banks offered to lend as much as £12.5 billion ($15.9 billion) to help finance the plant in eastern England, according to a person familiar with the matter. They include HSBC Holdings Plc, NatWest Group Plc and Banco Santander SA, the person said.

Debt will play a role in a multibillion-pound funding effort that also includes an ongoing effort to raise equity from private investors.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a general election on July 4, with his Conservative Party trailing in the polls. A victory by the Labour Party would end 14 years of Tory leadership, but whatever the outcome, the completion of a financing deal for the nuclear plant will occur under a new government.

“The two main political parties are committed to Sizewell C and we are carrying on with the capital raise, preparing for a final investment decision and mobilizing teams on our site,” a spokesperson for Sizewell said, declining to comment on the debt specifically.

HSBC and Santander declined to comment. NatWest didn’t immediately comment.

The UK aims to quadruple its nuclear power capacity along with a massive build-up in offshore wind farms, to help cut fossil fuels out of the electric grid en route to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The Sizewell project — owned by the government and minority stakeholder Electricite de France SA — could eventually cost an estimated £20 billion and take roughly a decade to build.

The government had vowed to reach a final investment decision on the proposed 3.2-gigawatt Sizewell C station in the current parliament, a process that was on track to complete this summer. That means the final stage of the fund-raising process could be among Labour leader Keir Starmer’s first acts if he becomes prime minister.

“Sizewell needs to move forward at pace,” Starmer said during a visit to another nuclear plant last year. “New nuclear has to be part of that mix.”

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.