Spending review special: GIB gets more money

The Green Investment Bank (GIB) will receive an extra £800 million as a result of the 2015/16 spending review

The cash is in addition to the seed funding provided by the government at its launch in November 2012.

Business secretary Vince Cable said the extra finance would enable the bank to allocate £3.8 billion until 2016 in its priority sectors, which include non-domestic energy efficiency, offshore wind, the green deal and waste.

The government has also given the bank the option of borrowing up to a further £500 million from its national loans fund (NLF).

The business department describes giving the GIB access to finance through the NLF as an important step, enabling the bank to demonstrate a record of making healthy profits from its investments in green infrastructure while borrowing at a commercial rate.

According to its first annual report, the bank has already directly committed £635 million to 11 projects which have a total value of £2.3 billion.