Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners is a specialist investment manager focusing exclusively on the infrastructure needed to drive the energy transition in the UK, US, and Australia. Quinbrook is led and managed by a senior team of power industry professionals who have collectively invested ~$6.9 billion of equity capital in 40 GW of energy infrastructure assets representing a total transaction value of $29.8 billion. The company has completed a diverse range of direct investments in both utility and distributed scale onshore wind and solar power, battery storage, reserve peaking capacity, biomass, fugitive methane recovery and flexible energy management solutions.

One of Quinbrook’s projects is Cleve Hill Solar Park, located on the north Kent coast, which consists of a 373MW solar farm with more than 550,000 solar panels and a 150MW co-located Battery Energy Storage (BESS) facility. Expected to commence operations in 2025 Cleve Hill could help reduce carbon emissions by more than 142,000 tonnes in the first year of operations while also seeking to deliver a net gain of over 67% in biodiversity over the life of the project. The project will also support approximately 2,500 direct and indirect jobs over its lifetime and generate more than £114 million in local socio-economic benefits.

Cleve Hill is the UK’s largest solar and battery storage project under construction, and is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). NSIPs are large-scale developments that the government consider to be of national importance because of their size and importance to wider communities.

Quinbrook, a longstanding NatWest customer, engaged NatWest to secure a suitable project finance package to fund Cleve Hill Solar Park.

The NatWest team structured a new debt facility comprising an up-to-£218.5 million term loan and a £20 million VAT facility. Quinbrook and the NatWest deal team arranged the financing in two tranches, with the Term Loan for the solar farm being completed in August alongside the £20 million VAT facility. The term loan for the BESS facility was completed in March 2025.

NatWest and one other lender took an equal share of the debt. As a Mandated Lead Arranger, the NatWest deal team also supported on both the rates and inflation hedging.

Keith Gains, Managing Director and UK Regional Leader for Quinbrook, commented: “Cleve Hill is a model for the development and financing of future large-scale projects in the UK that can meaningfully support the country’s decarbonisation goals while spurring economic growth and long-term job opportunities for local communities. The record-breaking financing secured is the latest milestone for this flagship project, and our success here is a testament to the hard work and close collaboration of the Quinbrook and Private Energy Partners teams and our lending partners.”
 

Rory Quinlan, Quinbrook’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, added: “When this project was envisioned over five years ago, we knew solar and battery storage projects of this scale would play a critical role in accelerating the UK’s transition and Cleve Hill is a prime example of how strategic investments can enhance national energy infrastructure.”
 

Lyudmil Banev, Director, Project Finance & Infrastructure, NatWest, said: “We are proud to have continued our global partnership with Quinbrook, working closely together from the early stages of Cleve Hill to structure and underwrite a complete financing for the first and largest co-location NSIP in the UK. Cleve Hill is a cornerstone transaction for the UK market delivering material new renewable capacity whilst alleviating grid constraints, with a sizeable local community and biodiversity benefit. We see co-location as a highly strategic sector with potential to become a centrepiece of the UK’s medium-term decarbonisation story.”