Macquarie Group (Macquarie) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Shemara Wikramanayake, has announced that the Australian-headquartered financial services group will support new investment to roll out a network of fast-charging electric vehicle infrastructure nationwide as part of a wider £20 billion of package of planned investment activity across its UK portfolio.
Announced on the sidelines of the UK's International Investment Summit, the new investment by Macquarie portfolio company Roadchef, one of Britain's leading motorway service area operators, will install around 650 fast-charging points across most of its sites in conjunction with partners to support the growing number of motorists adopting electric vehicles (EVs).
The upgraded EV charging facilities will be partly powered by 9 MW of new solar energy capacity installed on-site. Working with partners, Roadchef will also pilot charging solutions for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) at two key locations across the motorway network whilst developing 100 additional parking bays in preparation for electric HGVs.
Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group, said: "The upgrade of Roadchef sites is our latest in a long line of investments in UK infrastructure and we have plans to invest more. We believe that infrastructure investment helps create strong foundations for economic growth, job creation, better services for the public and stronger communities. We are fully invested in the UK's success and look forward to playing our part in delivering the investment the country needs."
Roadchef's plans form part of a larger £20 billion package of new investment across Macquarie's portfolio of UK infrastructure investments. These investment plans span Macquarie's interests across energy, utilities, transport, waste, and digital infrastructure and will see new investment across England, Wales and Scotland. These planned investments include:
- 5GW of new offshore wind developments, including projects off the Orkney and Lincolnshire coasts
- Developing new solar power and battery energy storage projects, including the UK's largest new solar project in Nottinghamshire by Island Green Power
- Supporting investment in the gas transmission network that provides energy to every corner of Britain alongside upgrades to the distribution networks supplying gas to 11 million homes and businesses across North West England, West Midlands, East Midlands, East of England and London
- Upgrading digital infrastructure, including bringing ultra-fast full fibre and gigabit wireless broadband to rural communities from Somerset to Cumbria
- Investing in the creation of new homes, including developments in Edinburgh and Birmingham
- Supporting the growth of high potential UK companies in areas such as utilities connections, wind farm performance analytics and smart metering led from Glasgow, Nottingham, and Watford
- Supporting investment to build the UK's first reservoir in 30 years alongside upgrades to essential water and wastewater infrastructure across England's South East
