Rachel Reeves to unveil £65m investment in EV charging firm
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil a £65m investment into an electric car charging company as part of a much-anticipated growth speech on Wednesday.
Morning Wire understands the new National Wealth Fund (NWF) will take an equity stake in Connected Kerb alongside Aviva Investors, the global asset management branch of Aviva Group.
The NWF will commit £55m, while Aviva will pledge £10m.
It is one of the first investments announced by the NWF, a Treasury-owned but operationally independent body that succeeded the National Infrastructure Bank.
Connected Kerb hopes the injection will enable it to quadruple the number of chargepoints it supplies to 40,000 as the government aims to encourage electric vehicle (EV) adoption.
Ministers have set a goal of installing at least 30,000 public EV chargepoints by 2030 ahead of looming bans on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles.
Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “The funding follows a record of nearly 20k public charge points added last year.
“With a further £6bn in the pipeline from industry by 2030, the switch to EVs is driving investment across the country, supporting jobs and making the UK a clean energy superpower to deliver our plan for change.”
Chris Pateman-Jones, Connected Kerb chief executive, said: “This is a game-changing investment that will give individuals and businesses the confidence to make the switch to driving electric, dramatically reducing carbon emissions and air pollution. We are delighted to have such high profile investors who deeply aligned with our sustainability and ethical goals.”
Rachel Reeves is expected to give her backing to Heathrow airport’s controversial third runway, expansions at both Gatwick and Luton and a relaxation planning laws in Oxfordshire this morning.
The move follows a tough first few months in government, which has seen the business world react furiously to wide-ranging tax hikes.