(Bloomberg) -- The UK government is speaking with investors beyond the core group of existing bidders for a stake in the country’s Sizewell C nuclear plant as talks to finalize the project’s funding continue.
The government has recently approached infrastructure and other private investors to provide equity to Britain’s next large-scale nuclear power plant, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks come at a critical time for the UK as it seeks to attract financing to overhaul the country’s power grid this decade.
The country recently delayed funding for the project until at least spring 2025, pushing back a previous target to take a final investment decision by the end of the year. Finding investors willing to participate in new nuclear plants is crucial to plans to cut emissions and reach 2050 net zero goals.
The government has been seeking investors for the Sizewell C project for more than a year and canvassed a wide variety of potential backers before honing in on a smaller group of interested parties, the people said. It’s not clear whether any of the investors being contacted now would be able to join the current fundraising process, or if they would buy into a subsequent round as the government further sells down its stake.
All of the potential investors who had bid on the project ahead of the election are still in the running, according to Nigel Cann, managing director of Sizewell C. The process is currently oversubscribed and they are now getting interest from additional investors, a proposition that is now being looked into, he said.
“We’ve got a lot of other investors keen to invest,” Cann said at an industry event in London on Thursday. “I can’t tell you the names of the people but we’re oversubscribed.”
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A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero said the autumn budget confirmed the current equity and debt raising process will move to its final stages shortly and will conclude in the spring. A final investment decision on whether to proceed with the project will be taken in the multiyear spending review, they added.
The Sizewell project — owned by the government and minority stakeholder Electricite de France SA — could eventually cost an estimated £20 billion ($25.3 billion) and take roughly a decade to build.
The government has previously engaged in discussions with investors including Centrica Plc, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., Amber Infrastructure Group Ltd. and Schroders Greencoat LLP and the conversations are ongoing, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks are private. Barclays Plc is advising the UK government.
Spokespeople for Barclays and Centrica declined to comment, while representatives for ENEC, Amber Infrastructure and Schroders didn’t immediately respond to queries.
Centrica Chief Executive Officer Chris O’Shea has said on various occasions that the company’s engagement in any UK infrastructure projects, including Sizewell, would hinge on the “right conditions.”
At the moment, the only nuclear power station under construction in the UK is Hinkley Point C, which has been repeatedly delayed and is expected to cost as much as £47.9 billion in current terms. EDF is also holding talks with investors over funding for Hinkley as the French utility grapples with the ballooning cost of the project.
(Updates with executive comment in fifth paragraph)
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