Macquarie makes £120m investment in UK waste giant Viridor

Australian bank Macquarie continued its push into sustainable infrastructure this week, announcing a £120m long-term debt investment in a portfolio of energy-from-waste assets operated by the UK waste and recycling giant Viridor.

The investment is being provided by the bank's infrastructure arm, Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions (MIDIS). MIDIS's long-term debt financing replaces shorter-term debt raised by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P for their £4.2bn acquisition of Viridor from Pennon Group in July 2020. MIDIS was also one of the largest institutional lenders in that financing package, investing on behalf of pension fund and insurance clients from the UK, Europe, and Asia.

MIDIS senior vice president Eric Henschel called Viridor "a welcome addition to the MIDIS portfolio," highlighting its "advanced energy recovery facilities and commitment to the circular economy."

"Viridor is helping to power communities across the UK whilst reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill each year," Henschel said.

The debt financing marks the latest expansion into sustainable infrastructure by MIDIS, which has previously provided substantial loans to UK solar and wind project. In total, MIDIS claims to have provided more than £1.5bn in debt financing to leading borrowers from across the energy, waste, solar PV and onshore and offshore wind sectors.

Macquarie acquired the UK government's Green Investment Bank in 2017, renaming the financial institution the Green Investment Group. There have since been growing calls for the government to establish another new investment bank to help drive the net zero transition. 

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• Topics
• Investment
• Waste
• Macquarie
• Macquarie Infrastructure Debt Investment Solutions
• Viridor
• investment
• energy from waste