
Crown Estate profits remain at record high but windfarm boost set to fall back
This has helped bring returns to the Treasury to £5 billion over the past decade.
The Crown Estate is run as an independent business, but its profits are paid directly to the Treasury, which then hands on a small portion of the money to the monarchy, known as the Sovereign Grant, which supports the official duties of the royal family.
Earnings have spiked to record levels in the past two years thanks to option fees – payments made by companies to reserve a patch of the seabed to eventually build their wind turbines on.
But The Crown Estate said the so-called option fee uplift is expected to drop back significantly in the current financial year – down from £1.07 billion in 2024/25 to around £25 million a year from January 2026 as projects move into the construction phase.
This will see the net revenue profit 'normalise', according to The Crown Estate.
But it said underlying profits, stripping out the option fee boost, stood at £366 million in the year to the end of March and would continue to grow.
The Crown Estate owns the vast majority of Britain's seabed, stretching up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland, and leases part of it to wind farm operators.
It also has a 180,000-acre property holding across the UK, including much of London's Regent Street and St James's, and large swathes of arable land and forestry.
Dan Labbad, chief executive at The Crown Estate, said it had been a 'landmark year' for collection, but flagged a difficult backdrop in the wider economy.
He said: 'This year's results are set against significant global economic disturbance.
'This affects the UK and Crown Estate just as it affects countries and businesses.
'This has made for a more challenging period.'
The results showed the value of The Crown Estate's land and assets was £15 billion in 2024/25, down from £15.5 billion the previous year.
The drop came after gains in its urban and rural businesses were offset by a £1 billion fall in the valuation of its marine assets.
It said the valuation of the marine portfolio had jumped higher in anticipation of option fees, but that it reduced as this income was recognised, falling back to £3.4 billion from £4.4 billion in 2023/24.
The figures come after the new Crown Estate Bill was passed earlier this year, handing it more powers to invest and borrow.
The Treasury has said the changes will allow The Crown Estate to invest more in green energy and help the UK achieve net zero.
Recent investments by The Crown Estate include a joint venture announced in May with Lendlease for housing and science and innovation space across six projects.
It said this has the potential to deliver 100,000 jobs, 26,000 homes and have an overall value of up to £24 billion.
Mr Labbad said: 'Thanks to new legislation, we now have greater flexibility to invest across our portfolio, increasing our resilience and potential, and enabling us to create lasting benefits for the country and its finances.'
Under previous rules, The Crown Estate could not use its cash reserves to invest because it had to hold them against the prospect of future financial losses.
But greater ability to borrow will see it invest more in offshore wind.
The Government has also committed to doubling its onshore wind capacity by 2030 and Mr Labbad said The Crown Estate was reviewing its land portfolio to see if more onshore wind projects could be 'viable and relevant'.
It will report back later in 2025.
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Reuters
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Trump to visit Fed as White House ramps up pressure on Powell
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The visit on Thursday also is taking place as Trump battles to deflect attention from a political crisis over his administration's refusal to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing a campaign promise. Epstein died in 2019. White House officials have ramped up Trump's pressure campaign on Powell in recent weeks, accusing the Fed of mismanaging the renovation of two historic buildings in Washington and suggesting poor oversight and potential fraud. White House budget director Russell Vought has pegged the cost overrun at "$700 million and counting," and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for an extensive review of the Fed's non-monetary policy operations, citing operating losses at the central bank as a reason to question its spending on the renovation. The Fed's operating losses stem from the mechanics of managing its policy rate to fight inflation, which include paying banks to park their cash at the central bank. 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Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a Republican who sent Powell a letter, opens new tab on Wednesday asking a series of questions about the cost and other details of the renovation as well as Powell's own statements about it, is part of the visit as well. Market reaction to Trump's visit was subdued. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds ticked higher after data showed new jobless claims dropped in the most recent week, signaling a stable labor market not in need of support from a Fed rate cut. Stocks on Wall Street were trading mostly higher. Trump's public criticism of Powell and flirtation with firing him have previously upset financial markets and threatened a key underpinning of the global financial system - that central banks are independent and free from political meddling. His visit, happening against the backdrop of his antipathy for Powell, contrasts with a handful of documented previous presidential visits. Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the Fed in 1937 to dedicate the newly-built headquarters that today make up the construction site that Trump is visiting. Most recently, former President George W. Bush went to the Fed in 2006 to attend the swearing-in of Ben Bernanke as Fed chief. Republican Senator Mike Rounds said on Thursday he saw no problem with Trump's visit, though he added that Powell's independence as Fed chief is "critical for the markets. I think he's done a good job of that." "I think the more information the president can glean from this, probably the better off we are in terms of resolving any issues that are outstanding," Rounds said, noting that Powell had indicated "that they have had a significant amount of money, just in terms of foundation work and so forth, that was not anticipated to begin with." Former Fed chiefs Janet Yellen and Bernanke this week wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times warning that the public's belief that the U.S. central bank is willing to make hard decisions based on data and independent of politics "is an important national asset. It is hard to acquire and easy to lose." Economic experts widely agree. "As we've seen through the disinflation process that has been taking place over the last few years, the credibility of central banks around the world has been instrumental in anchoring inflation expectations and in bringing down inflation across many countries in the world," International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday. "And it is also important that independence, of course, must coexist with clear accountability to the public." Asked about Trump's visit to the Fed, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters: "He's going today? Like, just to tour it? Well, I mean, I think that obviously he has strong views about Fed policies, which are shared by a lot of people with respect to interest rates, etc. But again, I think he has indicated on multiple occasions now that he has no intention of firing the chairman."


Reuters
7 hours ago
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They are widely expected to leave the Fed's benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range where it has been since December, as they wait to see how the economy performs in the face of the administration's tariffs and other economic policies. The White House did not say if Trump will be meeting with Powell on Thursday, and the Fed referred questions on the matter to the White House. Powell typically spends the Thursday afternoon before a rate-setting meeting doing back-to-back calls with Fed bank presidents as part of his preparations for the session. Powell, who was elevated by Trump to the top Fed job in 2018 and then reappointed by former President Joe Biden four years later, last met with Trump in March when the Republican president summoned him to the White House to press him to lower rates. The visit on Thursday also is taking place as Trump battles to deflect attention from a political crisis over his administration's refusal to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing a campaign promise. Epstein died in 2019. White House officials have ramped up Trump's pressure campaign on Powell in recent weeks, accusing the Fed of mismanaging the renovation of two historic buildings in Washington and suggesting poor oversight and potential fraud. White House budget director Russell Vought has pegged the cost overrun at "$700 million and counting," and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for an extensive review of the Fed's non-monetary policy operations, citing operating losses at the central bank as a reason to question its spending on the renovation. The Fed's operating losses stem from the mechanics of managing its policy rate to fight inflation, which include paying banks to park their cash at the central bank. The Fed reported a comprehensive net loss of $114.6 billion in 2023 and $77.5 billion in 2024, a reversal from years of big profits it turned over to the Treasury when interest rates - and inflation - were low. The Fed, in letters to Vought and lawmakers backed up by documents posted on its website, says the project - the first full rehab of its two buildings in Washington since they were built nearly a century ago - ran into unexpected challenges including toxic materials abatement and higher-than-estimated materials and labor costs. The White House's deputy chief of staff, James Blair, said this week that administration officials would be visiting the Fed on Thursday. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, a Republican who sent Powell a letter, opens new tab on Wednesday asking a series of questions about the cost and other details of the renovation as well as Powell's own statements about it, is part of the visit as well. Market reaction to Trump's visit was subdued. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds ticked higher after data showed new jobless claims dropped in the most recent week, signaling a stable labor market not in need of support from a Fed rate cut. Stocks on Wall Street were trading mostly higher. Trump's public criticism of Powell and flirtation with firing him have previously upset financial markets and threatened a key underpinning of the global financial system - that central banks are independent and free from political meddling. His visit, happening against the backdrop of his antipathy for Powell, contrasts with a handful of documented previous presidential visits. Then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited the Fed in 1937 to dedicate the newly-built headquarters that today make up the construction site that Trump is visiting. Most recently, former President George W. Bush went to the Fed in 2006 to attend the swearing-in of Ben Bernanke as Fed chief. Republican Senator Mike Rounds said on Thursday he saw no problem with Trump's visit, though he added that Powell's independence as Fed chief is "critical for the markets. I think he's done a good job of that." "I think the more information the president can glean from this, probably the better off we are in terms of resolving any issues that are outstanding," Rounds said, noting that Powell had indicated "that they have had a significant amount of money, just in terms of foundation work and so forth, that was not anticipated to begin with." Former Fed chiefs Janet Yellen and Bernanke this week wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times warning that the public's belief that the U.S. central bank is willing to make hard decisions based on data and independent of politics "is an important national asset. It is hard to acquire and easy to lose." Economic experts widely agree. "As we've seen through the disinflation process that has been taking place over the last few years, the credibility of central banks around the world has been instrumental in anchoring inflation expectations and in bringing down inflation across many countries in the world," International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said on Thursday. "And it is also important that independence, of course, must coexist with clear accountability to the public." Asked about Trump's visit to the Fed, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters: "He's going today? Like, just to tour it? Well, I mean, I think that obviously he has strong views about Fed policies, which are shared by a lot of people with respect to interest rates, etc. But again, I think he has indicated on multiple occasions now that he has no intention of firing the chairman."