POLITICS: Taxpayer on the hook for millions as solar company faces administration – USSA News

By Paul Homewood

 

h/t Ian Magness

 

From the Telegraph:

 

 

Taxpayers are facing a potential multimillion-pound blow as a leading British solar energy developer risks the threat of administration.

Hive Energy is preparing to appoint administrators just months after securing a £60m taxpayer-backed loan from HSBC to launch itself as a global operation.

The loan was announced by the UK Government last November at the UN’s COP30 climate conference to show how the UK was supporting the global expansion of solar. The loan guarantee was personally endorsed by Tim Reid, the chief executive of UK Export Finance Agency (UKEF), who said he was “proud” to support Hive.

It is the second such loan offered to Hive Energy, following a similar guarantee for a £19m loan from Santander taken out in 2024.

This week Hive issued a “notice of intention to appoint administrators” with law firm DLA Piper as its legal advisors. The move suggests the company – which has 200 renewables projects in its global pipeline, 15 of which are in the UK – is at risk of collapse.

It also raises the threat that taxpayers could be on the hook for loan repayments, and questions about the quality of UKEF’s vetting of Hive before approving the latest loan.

When asked by The Telegraph if taxpayer money was at risk, the UKEF and Mr Reid declined to comment.

HSBC and Santander banks also both declined to comment.

Full story here.

This raised huge questions

Who in the Government approved the taxpayer backing of that £60 million loan and why? As it was only a few months ago, the financial problems must have been pretty obvious at the time – companies don’t just suddenly collapse.

The fact that HSBC would not lend the money without the Government guarantee says it all.

Was the guarantee given because of ideological reasons, to further Miliband’s mad Net Zero obsession?