Investment firm Sustainable Development Capital has launched a legal challenge to the UK government’s sale of the Green Investment Bank.

Sian Crampsie

Investment firm Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL) has launched a legal challenge to the UK government’s sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB).

SDCL has applied to the High Court in London requesting a judicial review of the government’s selection of Australian investment bank Macquarie as its preferred bidder in the sale.

SDCL – a rival bidder to Macquarie in the sale – believes that the bidding process for the deal to sell the bank did not comply with criteria published by the UK government last year.

The move will further raise scrutiny of the £2 billion deal, which has already drawn criticism over concerns that Macquarie was planning to asset-strip the organisation.

The government announced Macquarie as its preferred bidder in October 2016. An announcement confirming the sale was expected in early 2017.