Quinbrook closes £587M Renewables Impact Fund II, beating its £500M target
What's the deal? Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has held the final close of its second UK-focused Renewables Impact Fund (QRIF II), raising £587 million from institutional investors — above its £500 million target. It is the specialist infrastructure manager's fifth fund and follows its inaugural Renewables Impact Fund, which closed in 2023.
Who backed it? QRIF II was marketed exclusively to institutional investors in the UK and Ireland, and drew a strong re-up rate from investors in the first fund.
What's the endgame? The fund targets infrastructure supporting the UK's Clean Power 2030 goals and Ireland's target of meeting 80% of electricity demand from renewables by 2030. It backs renewable energy, storage, grid stability, and the decarbonisation of commercial transport, with investments underpinned by long-term, inflation-linked contracts.
The portfolio is already well advanced. Holdings include the 373MW dc Mallard Pass Solar Project in England's East Midlands, the Wexford Synchronous Condenser Project — Quinbrook's first investment in the Republic of Ireland — and Aegis Energy, which is building clean energy refuelling hubs for commercial vehicle fleets.
Why now? "As the UK and Ireland continue to make meaningful progress towards their energy transition goals, investor demand for infrastructure assets that deliver both resilience and decarbonisation continues to grow," said Keith Gains, managing director and UK regional lead.
He added that the fund expanded into "grid stability infrastructure in Ireland and the decarbonisation of commercial transport in the UK," areas Quinbrook sees as backed by supportive policy.
The signal: The speed and scale of the raise point to sustained institutional appetite for contracted clean energy assets that pair downside protection with energy-transition exposure. "Investors are increasingly focused on strategies that combine downside protection with meaningful exposure to the energy transition," said Mark Burrows, managing director and head of relationships and fundraising for Europe.
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Image credit: NotMicroButSoft (Fallen in Love with Ghizar, GB)
