Fidra lands £231M debt to fund 500MW UK battery project
What's the deal? Fidra EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has reached financial close on its West Burton C battery project after securing £231 million in loan facilities from an international banking consortium. The 500MW/1.1GWh site, worth around £250 million, will be built at a former coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire and is expected to be fully operational in 2028.
Who's backing it? The lending group comprises ABN AMRODealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, China Minsheng Banking CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, MizuhoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, MUFG BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Siemens BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Siemens Financial ServicesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The debt sits alongside equity support from EIGDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and the National Wealth FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? Financial close separates West Burton C from the many battery projects that have secured land, planning, or grid positions but not the capital to start building. Fidra now has a funded path into construction.
What's the endgame? Drax GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has signed a 10-year tolling agreement covering 250MW/500MWh, giving it dispatch control over half the project without funding construction or taking on maintenance risk. West Burton C also holds a 15-year UK Capacity Market agreement from October 2028, combining contracted and market-linked revenue.
What could go wrong? The financing does not remove execution risk. The central question shifts from whether Fidra can raise money to whether it can build and commission the facility on cost, on time, and to technical spec.
The signal: At £231 million, this ranks among the largest UK debt rounds on record, sitting in the 92nd percentile across 2,697 UK deals. The presence of several international lenders suggests large British battery projects are becoming acceptable infrastructure-finance assets, rather than relying on specialist funds or developer equity.
Read more: Business News Today
