GIB alliance makes £50m available for energy efficiency projects

Making the announcement, the bank says it is joining up with international equipment and vendor finance specialist Societe Generale Equipment Finance (SGEF), who will be adding the additional £25m to the fund.

The alliance will marry SGEF’s “strong track record in equipment financing” with additional capital and expertise from GIB, helping organisations reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the GIB, funding from the alliance will allow organisations to put in place energy efficiency measures without having to fund the finance upfront.

Projects could include combined heat and power plants, boilers, building retrofits, lighting and energy reduction technologies for production processes, among others.

UK GIB chief executive Shaun Kingsbury said: “Many organisations understand that energy efficiency measures make good commercial sense but, with few financiers in this space, they simply cannot afford the initial investment.

“Our partnership with one of the industry leaders allows these organisations to realise cost savings from day one without having to fund the capital upfront,” added Kingsbury.

Leigh Stringer