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Last year the UK government set out its Clean Power 2030 plan which will involve doubling onshore wind capacity and trebling solar PV, which will require £40 billion of investment each year. Similarly, the European Union recently set a new target of 42.5% renewable energy. This new partnership between CVC DIF, its investors and Low Carbon will allow the company to remain at the forefront of this transition to a clean, secure and affordable electricity sector in the UK and across Europe. 

With a 16 GW pipeline and 1 GW of highly contracted operational and in construction asset base, the new capital from CVC DIF will help to grow Low Carbon’s presence across core markets including the UK, Germany, and Poland, where it aims to bring a 3 GW portfolio of operational utility-scale solar, onshore wind, battery storage and co-located assets into operations in the coming years. 

It also demonstrates confidence in the expertise of Low Carbon’s team across the value chain of 170 people to develop, construct and operate world-class renewable infrastructure by leveraging its in-house AI technology platform to optimise its assets and returns, essential to long-term value creation.

CVC DIF brings significant renewable energy experience to this new partnership, with a dedicated sector specialist team and having invested in a diverse portfolio of assets and platforms across wind, solar, hydropower, BESS and biogas. It has a proven 20-year track record of value creation within this sector and can also leverage the strength and depth of the broader CVC network, providing on-the-ground local market expertise and insights.

MassMutual, a significant shareholder in Low Carbon after forming a strategic partnership in 2021, will continue to support the growth of the business with additional investment and will work closely with CVC DIF to accelerate the build out of Low Carbon’s renewables pipeline.

Founder and Chief Executive of Low Carbon, Roy Bedlow, commented “I would like to thank CVC DIF and their investors for the confidence they have placed in Low Carbon and our ability to develop, build and operate high-quality renewable assets in the UK and Europe. In addition, MassMutual’s continued investment in Low Carbon underlines our shared ambition of delivering long-term value across the full investment cycle of renewables that will help accelerate our goal to deploy renewable energy at scale to help tackle climate change.”

Caine Bouwmeester, Partner and Head of Renewable Energy at CVC DIF, added: “We are excited to partner with Low Carbon, a best-in-class renewable energy company which we have known well for more than a decade. This investment reflects our shared conviction in the critical role renewables will play in the energy transition. Low Carbon’s talented team, strong culture, and disciplined development strategy position it to lead the next phase of growth in the sector. Together with Roy, his team, MassMutual, and our highly supportive co-investors, we look forward to building on this momentum and generating attractive risk adjusted returns for our investors.”

Drew Dickey, Head of Alternative Investments at MassMutual, added: “Significant strides have been made since our original investment in Low Carbon to distinguish it as a top performing renewable energy company. We welcome the combination of capital and experience that CVC DIF brings to Low Carbon, which will provide important leadership to the buildout of our ambitious pipeline of renewable energy projects.”

The CVC DIF investment will be made through DIF Infrastructure VIII (“DIF VIII”) and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. 

Evercore acted as advisers for Low Carbon on the transaction.

Switzerland’s federal prosecutor has filed charges against the failed bank Credit Suisse and its new owner, UBS, over the long-running “tuna bonds” loan scandal that crashed Mozambique’s economy nearly a decade ago.

The Swiss attorney general said on Monday that it had brought money-laundering charges against an unnamed employee of Credit Suisse, but was also taking action against the lender and its rival-turned-owner UBS.

The attorney general’s office accused the banks of “organisational deficiencies” that ultimately failed to prevent wrongdoing and meant the suspicious transactions were not reported until 2019, after the US Department of Justice announced it was launching its own criminal proceedings.

The prosecutor added: “In 2016, in particular, considerable defects existed in the companies’ risk management, compliance and internal directives systems in connection with combating money laundering.”

UBS took over Credit Suisse as part of an emergency rescue deal brokered by Swiss authorities in 2023. UBS said: “We firmly reject the office of the attorney general’s conclusions and will vigorously defend our position.”

The tuna bonds scandal arose from $2bn (£1.5bn) worth of loans that Credit Suisse arranged for the Republic of Mozambique between 2013 and 2016. The loans were said to be going to government-sponsored investment schemes including maritime security projects and a state tuna fishery, located in the south-east African country’s capital, Maputo.

However, a portion of the funds went unaccounted for, with one of Mozambique’s contractors later found to have secretly arranged “significant kickbacks” worth at least $137m, including $50m for bankers at Credit Suisse, meant to secure more favourable deals on the loans, according to the Financial Conduct Authority.

The scam snowballed and eventually caused the International Monetary Fund to suspend its assistance to Mozambique, leading to a crash in the country’s economy.

Credit Suisse had already settled the case with US and UK regulators in 2021, having paid $275m to American watchdogs and £147m to Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority.

UBS also subsequently agreed to settle the case with Mozambique in October 2023, shortly before a trial was due to kick off in London courts. Mozambique had been pursuing $1.5bn in damages over economic losses after the IMF and international donors pulled their financial support.

The Swiss attorney general’s office accused Credit Suisse and its owner of “not taking all the required and reasonable organisational measures in the relevant period in 2016 to prevent the money laundering that was allegedly committed”.

Credit Suisse was sold to UBS in an emergency deal in March 2023, when customers started to pull money from the lender amid a mini-banking crisis that primarily affected US lenders but later spread to Zurich.

Credit Suisse had for years been mired in scandals, but panic over its future grew after its largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, ruled out any extra funding for the Swiss lender despite the growing turmoil.

The crisis of confidence eventually forced Swiss authorities to offer emergency loans to Credit Suisse, before eventually orchestrating a shotgun takeover by Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, which bought the lender for a cut price of 3bn Swiss francs. It left UBS handling a raft of legacy scandals from its former rival.