National Grid criticised for £4.2bn sale ‘of the national silver’ to foreign investor

National Grid has been criticised for its sale of a large chunk of Britain’s gas pipeline infrastructure to foreign investors for more than £4bn.

The company quietly announced on Sunday that it had sold 60% of its gas transmission business – which sends gas around the UK to heat homes and businesses – to Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management and Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.

National Grid will receive £2.2bn in cash for the deal, and £2bn in debt financing – and said the move would help it transition towards electricity, a key component of the UK’s 2050 net zero goals.

National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew said that the new owners have lots of experience owning big infrastructure and a “long-term commitment to the UK”.

“I look forward to our partnership and continuing to deliver safe and reliable gas service at the least cost to consumers,” he said.

Advertisement Image: National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew

But Vince Cable, the former business secretary, has now weighed in, criticising Macquarie’s track record of owning important public utilities.

He specifically pointed to the company’s management of Thames Water, the UK’s largest water utility, saying it raised “questions over its suitability to run a crucial utility”.

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Macquarie owned Thames Water for more than a decade, leaving it saddled with debt when it sold the company in 2016.

The bank earned billions in huge dividends from the company, while paying next to no corporation tax.

Mr Cable told The Times that Britain’s gas networks needed “longer-term investment cycles than [Macquarie is] used to”.

Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former energy secretary, said that “any firm seeking to profit unfairly from the gas network needs to be told loud and clear they will be stopped”.

In 2021, National Grid purchased the UK’s largest electricity distribution business for £7.8bn.

The company responsible for keeping Britain’s lights on said 70% of its assets would now be focused on electricity in a bid to enhance its role in the delivery of the UK’s energy transition.

But Gary Carter, national officer at trade union GMB, told The Times the sale of National Grid’s gas transmission business contradicted the government’s recent push towards energy independence.

“Flogging more of the national silver to a foreign company doesn’t immediately look like a good way to improve our energy security,”” said Mr Carter.

Over the past 15 years Macquarie claims to have invested £50bn in UK infrastructure.