3 minute read | May.05.2025
Ørsted has divested a twenty-four and a half per cent. (24.5%) interest in the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm (a joint venture between Ørsted and Scottish Power Renewables) to funds managed by Schroders Greencoat, with a deal value of GBP 456.1 million on a debt-free basis. Schroders Greencoat is a global specialist asset manager focusing on renewable energy infrastructure assets, with a combined net generating capacity of over 7 GW and GBP 9.6 billion assets under management.
Located approximately 14 km off the UK west coast, West of Duddon Sands reached full commercial operation in 2014, and has a total installed capacity of 389 MW. Orrick’s role in advising Ørsted on the divestment continues its long-standing relationship with Ørsted and follows shortly after Orrick's role advising Ørsted on its GBP 717 million divestment of a remaining twenty-five per cent. (25%) interest in the London Array offshore wind farm (also to funds managed by Schroders Greencoat) and the GBP 1.14 billion sale by Ørsted (and its joint venture partner) of the transmission assets of the 1.3GW Hornsea Two offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners (a consortium of HICL Infrastructure PLC and Mitsubishi Corporation).
Ørsted retains a twenty-five and a half per cent. (25.5%) pro-rata consolidated interest in West of Duddon Sands following the divestment, and also remains the operator of the wind farm under the existing operations and maintenance agreement.
Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted is the leading developer and operator of offshore wind farms in the UK, with over 5 GW of operating capacity.
Based on a self-funded business plan, Ørsted is executing a more than 8 GW offshore wind construction programme, which will almost double the company’s installed offshore wind capacity and further solidify Ørsted’s position as the global leader in offshore wind.
With the divestment, Ørsted continues to deliver on and maintains its track record of recycling capital efficiently to fund its substantial partnership and divestment programme and bolster the UK's transition to green energy. This transaction also builds on a strong collaboration between Ørsted and Schroders Greencoat, which is an existing partner on four other Ørsted offshore wind farms (Walney, Burbo Bank Extension, Hornsea 1 and Borkum Riffgrund 1).
The multi-disciplinary Orrick team was led by Ravinder Sandhu, Simon Alsey and Albert Yu, and supported by April Lord and Philippa Bourke. Other members of the Orrick team that provided valuable assistance on this transaction include Simon Folley, Craig Bruce, Rebecca Grevitt, David O’Donovan and Taylor Brien (Energy & Infrastructure), Victoria Newbold (Antitrust & Competition), Jonathan Rosen (Tax), Sarah Stockley (International Arbitration & Dispute Resolution), Nicola Whiteley (Employment) and Bethany Brabner, Thomas Seward and Milo Dunne.