UK Infrastructure Bank to rebrand as cornerstone of new industrial strategy

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) is to be rebranded as the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and will help direct “tens of billions of pounds” of private investment into low-carbon projects.

The decision follows a review chaired by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who said the NWF should be based inside an existing institution.

The new NWF will expand Leeds-based UKIB’s remit beyond infrastructure in support of the Government’s industrial strategy. With additional financial capacity and an enhanced risk budget, the NWF will be capitalised with £27.8bn, an increase on the £22bn allocated to the UKIB, to catalyse private investment.

The new organisation is designed to “take on a more sophisticated partnership role with Government departments, bringing investment expertise and policymaking closer together, to accelerate policy development which supports and grows the market.”

The NWF will continue to make private sector investments against a clear set of principles, with a focus on crowding in private finance to sectors and technologies which are critical to the UK’s clean energy and growth ambitions.

The government will set out further details of the NWF’s role in delivering the Industrial Strategy in a statement of strategic priorities, as well as reviewing the organisation’s success metrics, before the next financial year.

“We are simply making sure that the funding can best meet the needs of those sectors where the NWF’s might not be the best fit,” a Treasury spokesperson said, adding that further details will be published in next year's Spending Review.

In the foreword to a newly published policy paper, Reeves said the NWF will be a "cornerstone of this government’s strategy to catalyse investment into clean energy industries and to support the delivery of our new Industrial Strategy, building on the success of the UK Infrastructure Bank".

The fund will mobilise private sector capital into investments across the UK and "support the government in forging new partnerships with business so we can invest in the jobs, industries and infrastructure of the future", she said.

The fund will operate independently, "ensuring that investment decisions are driven by economic value and strategic impact, with governance structures designed to uphold transparency and accountability", she added.

John Flint, CEO, at the National Wealth Fund said, “It is a huge privilege to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the National Wealth Fund. Building on the strong foundations we have laid as UKIB, we will hit the ground running, using sector insight and investment expertise that the market knows and trusts to unlock billions of pounds of private finance for projects across the UK. With additional capital to deploy against a bigger mandate, we stand ready to help the market invest with confidence, in support of the Government's growth ambitions.”