US giant Apollo to back Hinkley Point C with £4.5bn loan
US private capital group Apollo Global will back the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station with a £4.5bn loan, according to reports.
The loan will be provided as unsecured debt to EDF, the French state-owned energy firm delivering the project, at an interest rate of just under seven per cent, sources told the FT.
While the funding could theoretically be plugged into other UK projects by EDF, Hinkley Point C is expected to be the primary beneficiary.
The nuclear power plant in Somerset has been beset by cost overruns and delay since it received government approval in 2016.
It was expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of around £18bn, but estimates now place the project’s total cost at close to £46bn, while a start date has been pushed back until 2029.
A combination of labour shortages, the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation in material costs have all contributed to the cost increases.
China General Nuclear, which held a minority stake in the project, also halted funding in December 2023, increasing the bill for EDF further.
Apollo and EDF declined to comment on the debt package.
Upon completion, Hinkley Point C will power around 6m homes as the UK heads towards a 2050 net-zero deadline. The new reactors are expected to provide around seven per cent of Britain’s electricity needs.
EDF is also building the £14.6bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, which received a green light from ministers in last week’s spending review.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said this month nuclear power would be critical to delivering a “golden age of clean energy abundance” and tackling the climate crisis.
Apollo’s total assets under management (AUM) were a split between $641bn (£474.8bn) in credit and $144bn in equity as of the first quarter of 2025.