A model of the Hinkley Point C station. (Image: UK government)
U.S.-based private capital group Apollo Global has committed £4.5 billion ($6.13 billion) in financing to EDF Energy, primarily to support the U.K.’s Hinkley Point C station. The move addresses funding needs left unmet since China General Nuclear Power Corporation—which originally planned to pay for one-third of the project—exited in 2023 amid U.K. government efforts to reduce Chinese involvement.
According to Apollo, it’s the largest private credit transaction in pounds sterling ever and the “largest ever capital funding transaction executed by EDF.” The bond is set to be issued in three tranches: the first £1.5 billion will be issued on June 26, the second in 2026, and the third in 2027. While this funding is not exclusively earmarked for Hinkley, it’s expected to be the primary financing recipient. A press release from the EDF said, “This transaction enables EDF to secure a substantial part of the sterling financing of its investments in the U.K. over the next three years, in particular the Hinkley Point C project.”
It’s inarguably a big month for the U.K.’s nuclear energy sector, this news coming only ten days after the U.K. government announced a massive £14.2 billion (about $19.2 billion) investment in Sizewell C, another EDF-owned nuclear power project in the U.K.
Quotable: “Apollo is pleased to provide this bespoke, large-scale financing to EDF in support of its vital role in advancing European energy sovereignty and power infrastructure, including in the U.K. This landmark transaction highlights our deepening partnership with the French government and EDF and reaffirms our commitment to being a premier capital provider to leading European companies,” said Jamshid Ehsani, head of global principal structured finance at Apollo.
Hinkley details: Hinkley Point C is a nuclear power station in Somerset, England, that has been under construction since 2016. Projections for its commissioning currently range from 2029 to 2031. It consists of twin 1,600-MWe EPRs designed by Framatome and EDF. It will be the first new nuclear power plant in the U.K. in three decades.
