Help to launch UK’s new floating offshore wind market

Throughout Floating Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, we supported The Crown Estate (TCE) to develop financial and commercial solutions to launch a new floating offshore wind market in the UK – unlocking clean energy, and creating social and environmental value.

The challenge

TCE needed to design a robust and competitive tender process to attract high-quality market players to this new technology (floating offshore wind). This was against the backdrop of changing UK energy policy, as well as global volatility and uncertainty for the sector.

The tender process had to build upon previous tender rounds but also adapt to the specifics of this new technology and an evolving market. This required innovative commercial thinking.

As the project progressed, so did the advisory requirements. We had to be agile to keep in step, making sure the right people with the right skills were available at the right time.

How we helped

We developed a rigorous financial and commercial evaluation methodology, which fostered entry of new market players, considered the impacts of COVID-19 on historic financial performance and allowed bidders to self-screen – reducing time and resources for all parties.

To balance the needs of achieving ‘best consideration’ for TCE with value for money for energy consumers, we used a bespoke ascending clock auction to simultaneously achieve price discovery across a number of assets.

We continuously adapted our approach to meet TCE’s needs, bringing in social value experts and an on-the ground tender management team, as well as seconding in the tender director role.

The results

In June 2025, TCE announced the results of the auction. It allocated development rights for up to 3GW capacity of clean, secure energy, putting the UK at the forefront of the floating offshore wind market. The Round 5 windfarms are expected to lead to the creation of 5,300 new jobs and deliver a £1.4 billion boost to the UK economy.

With TCE having identified a further 4-10GW to be brought to market by the end of the decade, the delivery of this tender process provides a proven blueprint for success in future offshore wind tenders.