(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc (‘Aviva’), has announced it has provided financing to Diamond Transmission Partners for the purchase of offshore transmission operator (“OFTO”) assets at Hornsea One, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm.

The transaction was carried out on behalf of Aviva UK Life’s annuity business and further extends Aviva Investors’ commitment to the Hornsea One project, with the business having originally provided £400 million of financing in 2018 to help fund its construction.
Hornsea One, owned by Ørsted Wind Power A/S and Global Infrastructure Partners (‘GIP’), is a 1.2GW asset located off the East Coast of England. Consisting of 174 Siemens 7MW wind turbine generators, it was the first wind farm to have more than 1GW of capacity and produces enough energy to power over one million UK homes.
Hornsea One OFTO builds on the strong partnership Aviva Investors has built with Diamond Transmission Partners in 2020 when Aviva Investors also contributed funding towards the purchase of OFTO systems at Galloper
Wind Farm, that sits 27km off the coast of Suffolk and which generates enough electricity to power more than 380,000 UK homes.
As part of its commitment to a sustainable economy and decarbonising its portfolio of assets, Aviva Investors recently published an ambitious net zero pathway for its £47.3 billion Real Assets business, which includes the interim goals of investing £2.5 billion in low-carbon and renewable energy infrastructure and increasing low-carbon and renewable energy generation capacity to 1.5GW by 2025.
Sinéad Walshe, Director, Infrastructure Debt at Aviva Investors, said:
“Hornsea One is a seminal asset in the delivery of renewable energy and carbon efficiencies within the UK. We are delighted to be able to further our backing and involvement in this flagship project, reflecting our desire for infrastructure projects that can meet client investment objectives whilst also having a positive ESG impact, as we continue to decarbonise our portfolio of assets.”
Marcus Mollan, Director, Annuity Asset Origination at Aviva, added:
“We are pleased to extend Aviva’s backing of renewable energy projects across the country and support the UK Government’s wider commitment to becoming a net zero carbon economy. Tackling the climate crisis is an issue we take very seriously, having recently become the first major insurer to set out the demanding target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Not only will this investment provide long-term cashflows to match our liabilities, it will also have a positive impact at a community level by providing a significant number of UK homes with clean, renewable energy.”