Scottish National Investment Bank and UK Infrastructure Bank sign agreement

The Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Infrastructure Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on their working relationship and shared ambition to attract private investment into Scotland.

Both banks are government owned, yet operate independently to invest public capital on a commercial basis.

Through the agreement, they will continue to share sector insights and intelligence, impact analysis, thought leadership and development opportunities which will be beneficial to both.

While the banks will continue to support separate projects in Scotland, in line with their individual mandates, the MoU should help facilitate discussions on opportunities that would benefit from co-financing by both parties.

Scottish National Investment Bank chief executive Al Denholm commented: “We both recognise that cooperation and collaboration can leverage our investment impact and we are excited to build on the good work we have already done together.”

UK Infrastructure Bank chief executive John Flint added: ”We look forward to working more closely with the Scottish National Investment Bank and drawing on their insight into the local market to accelerate investment opportunities in Scotland.”

The Scottish National Investment Bank finances businesses and projects in Scotland that have debt or equity requirements between £1m and £50m and align with its missions of achieving a just transition to net zero, improving equality and opportunity, and harnessing innovation.

The UK Infrastructure Bank has £22bn to deploy in infrastructure projects which tackle climate change and drive regional and local economic growth, across the whole of the UK.

This includes £4bn for local authorities with eligible projects, with a minimum ticket size of £5m, alongside commercial and financial advisory services. For private sector transactions, UKIB has a minimum ticket size of £25m.

Since their respective launches, the banks have collaborated on the development of the offshore wind industry, and the MoU is designed to create more opportunities to unlock strategic opportunities and attract private investment into Scotland.

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