New National Wealth Fund to usher in new era for private investment 

by  | July 09, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Chancellor Rachel Reeves announces establishment of the National Wealth Fund to kickstart economic growth 
  • National Wealth Fund will simplify the UK’s fragmented landscape of support for businesses and investors, bringing critical institutions like the UK Infrastructure Bank and British Business Bank closer together. 
  • This will create a step change in our ability to mobilise private capital into the UK’s most important sectors and assets, creating thousands of jobs across the country. 

 

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves today (9 July) supercharged growth in the green industries of the future with the establishment of the National Wealth Fund (NWF).  

Boosting investment into the economy is an urgent priority for the government’s growth mission. To generate the investment that this country needs, the National Wealth Fund will ensure every pound invested by UK public finance institutions unlocks maximum private investment.  

The National Wealth Fund will bring together key institutions like the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and the British Business Bank closer together to create a single coherent offer for businesses and a compelling proposition for investors, to mobilise billions more in private investment.  

The NWF will deploy funding through the UK Infrastructure Bank so investments can start being made immediately, expanding its remit to focus on further priority sectors, and providing an additional £7.3 billion to catalyse private investment at an even greater scale. As part of the NWF, reforms will also be made to the British Business Bank to ensure it can mobilise the UK’s deep pools of institutional capital, harnessing its capacity as the UK’s largest investor in venture capital. This will unlock billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s world-leading green and growth industries.  

Today Rachel Reeves convened the National Wealth Fund Taskforce at No11 Downing Street and welcomed the report which sets out proposals for the design and delivery of the NWF.   

Chaired by Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas, CEO of the Green Finance Institute, the group includes former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Barclays CEO C.S Venkatakrishnan, Aviva CEO Dame Amanda Blanc and large institutional investors. 

 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:  

“Our National Wealth Fund is at the heart of our approach to grow the economy and create good jobs for everyone.“Working in partnership with business, we will make transformative investments across every part of the country in the industries of the future.”

As one of her first actions, the Chancellor has tasked the Treasury to engage with industry, government departments and the UK’s public finance institutions themselves to rapidly set detailed plans in motion.  

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chair of the Taskforce and CEO of the Green Finance Institute, said: 

“The Taskforce recommendations set out how a combination of catalytic capital, deployed in partnership with a government delivering policy certainty, can make the UK the destination of choice for global investment. The NWF will reshape the way we approach public, private risk-sharing, providing private investors with the confidence needed to fund the technologies and infrastructure needed to drive growth and create new jobs across the UK.” 

 

Playing a central role in the government’s industrial strategy, the National Wealth Fund will make transformative investments across every part of the country supporting thousands of good jobs across the country and making everyone better off. 

The government will bring forward new legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows to cement the National Wealth Fund in statute, making it a permanent institution at the heart of the country’s long-term growth and prosperity. 

The NWF will also work with local partners including Mayors to bring together a finance and investment offer that supports the needs of local areas and catalyses growth in all corners of the country.  

Read the report here: Green Finance Institute

 

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"This new Government is getting on with the job of delivering economic growth. I have been clear that there is no time to waste. I have previously committed to establishing a National Wealth Fund. I am now going further by bringing together key institutions. We need to go further and faster if we are to fix the foundations of our economy to rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off. That is why in less than a week we are establishing a new National Wealth Fund and bringing together the key institutions that will help unlock investment in new and growing industries. Britain is open for business – and the work of change has begun."

Rachel Reeves

Chancellor of the Exchequer,

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"The Taskforce recommendations set out how a combination of catalytic capital, deployed in partnership with a government delivering policy certainty, can make the UK the destination of choice for global investment. The National Wealth Fund will reshape the way we approach public, private risk-sharing, providing private investors with the confidence needed to fund the technologies and infrastructure needed to drive growth and create new jobs across the UK."

Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE

CEO, the Green Finance Institute and Chair of the Taskforce

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