Zouk Capital holds third close of Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund

The UK Treasury’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF), which is managed by Zouk Capital, has now reached a total of GBP380 million (US$515.52 million) in signed commitments (against a target of GBP400 million, about US$492.30 million) following a third close.

The close was anchored from the private sector by Willis Towers Watson’s clients and investment funds and Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Climate Impact Fund, with funding matched by HM Treasury. The fund is targeting a final close in early 2021.

Both global leaders in their fields, investment consultant and fund manager Willis Towers Watson and asset manager Morgan Stanley Investment Management further strengthen the impressive list of investors already committed to CIIF. The CIIF is underpinned by the need to rapidly decarbonize the UK’s transport sector and improve air quality, which creates an opportunity to make environmentally impactful financial returns through the creation of large renewable energy powered public EV charging networks.

In 2020 the UK Government twice reduced the deadline for sales of petrol and diesel cars in its goal of reducing net carbon emission to zero by 2050. Supporting the public electric vehicle (EV) charging network is a key initiative within this objective.  CIIF is dedicated to catalyzing the rollout of a robust and diversified public EV charging infrastructure that is required to support the electrification of vehicles throughout the UK. Two investments have been made from CIIF so far - the first investment was in InstaVolt, which develops, installs, owns and operates rapid EV charging stations in the UK and has plans to bolster UK rapid charge points nationally to 5000.  The second, announced in May 2020, was in Liberty Charge, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Zouk Capital, which is rolling out on-street residential charging points throughout the UK for the 40% of households without access to private driveways.