Thursday 29 June 2023

Record offshore wind profits propel Britain’s royal finances to new heights

The Crown Estate has achieved record-breaking profits of nearly half a billion pounds from Britain's offshore wind farms.

The profits are due to income from offshore wind leases.

The Crown Estate is an independently-run commercial business and its profits are directed to the Treasury.

These profits also serve as a benchmark for determining the level of public funding allocated to the royal family.

In January, King Charles expressed his desire for some of the profits from the offshore wind farm lease auction to be used for the "wider public good" rather than benefiting the royal family.

However, he did not specify the exact amount.

The net revenue profit of the Crown Estate reached £442.6 million in 2022, marking a £129.9 million increase compared to the previous year.

This boost in profit can be attributed to the offshore wind farm lease tender known as round 4, which involved the signing of Agreements for Lease for six offshore wind farms.

Dan Labbad, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate said: "Amid a further year of uncertainty and volatility, we have seen variations in performance across our business.

"Over the last ten years, we have contributed £3.2 billion for the benefit of the nation’s finances through the active management of a portfolio that has doubled in value to nearly £16 billion."