Earnings for the crown’s fortune, which generates money for the Treasury and the royal family, rose by ,4 43.4m to 2 312.7m a year by the end of March. The total value of its portfolio, which includes the seabed in Britain and real estate on Regent Street in London, increased by 8.3% to ,6 15.6 billion. The estate’s first auction on its seabed licenses in a decade has helped increase the value of the portfolio. The estate has licensed six offshore wind farms off the coasts of England and Wales, which could generate up to 9 9 billion over the next 10 years. Successful bidders included German RWE Renewables, which won two licenses at Dogger Bank off the coast of Yorkshire, and two from a consortium that includes oil company BP, which also invests in renewable energy. Quick guide
How the queen holds the seabed
projection Ownership of the Queen of the British Coastline is an ancient right, but her power to collect rights from offshore wind and wave energy is much more recent. Full exploitation of the crown was granted by parliament in 2004. Until the 1960s there was no formal legislation declaring ownership of the crown under the low consumption mark. Until then, sovereignty was by convention and common law. In the eighteenth century, a limit of three miles was adopted by most coastal states. There were exceptions, such as Soviet Russia, which claimed 12 nautical miles. In the twentieth century, this broader limit began to be used all over the world, including the United Kingdom, and remains in force today. The Queen’s sea area extends much further. It extends to the continental shelf, a depth zone of up to 200 meters around the British Isles. To the east, the UK border is halfway to the Netherlands and Belgium. This is a relatively recent development. Until the late 1950s, government lawyers were skeptical about extending sovereignty, fearing that this could draw attention to the fact that there was in fact no formal legislation securing the ownership of the crown below the low signal. A decade after her coronation, the issue was raised by the monarch herself. After an audience with Queen Elizabeth in 1962, the Earl of Perth, the Crown Commissioner, said he “had seen something about the Crown Estate taking over land rights under the sea.” The discovery of North Sea oil and gas was a catalyst, with drilling companies demanding clear ownership. In 1964, the continental shelf law set the much wider limit that remains in force today. The ownership of oil and gas on land and at sea belongs to the crown, but since 1934 the work of its exploitation, with the determination of exploitation rights and the assignment of drilling rights, belongs to the government. Wind power is different. From the first round in 2000, wind farm leases were managed by the Crown Estate. Even then, the demand was lively. The auction created plans for 20 farms. Everything was limited to the 12-mile limit because ministers felt that the United Kingdom could not use the 1964 law to allow large structures such as turbines to go offshore without new legislation. More space was needed to develop this green energy source. Thus, in 2002, government lawyers proposed the use of a UN convention to create an “exclusive economic zone” for wind and wave energy within the continental shelf. A Green Paper sought views on the “most appropriate body” to be entrusted with the management of this new zone. The issue was settled with the Energy Act of 2004. Exploitation rights would remain with the crown. Thank you for your response. The government has not yet approved any of the projects. However, independent valuations of their potential income raised the value of the shipping business of the Crown’s property by 22% compared to last year to 5 5 billion. It is hoped that wind farms will be able to power 7 million homes. The Crown’s estate transfers all its profits to the Ministry of Finance before 25% is returned to the royal household in the form of a state subsidy – a funding formula currently under state review. The state subsidy increased in 2017, from the previous level of 15%, to pay for extensive renovations at Buckingham Palace. The financing agreement dates back to 1760, when George III reached an agreement to hand over his income from the crown estate in exchange for an annual fixed payment, now called a state grant. The Queen is not liable for tax on the state subsidy, but voluntarily pays tax on her private income from land belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster and property she owns personally. The 2 312.7 million profit represents a significant recovery from last year, helped by increased rent collection and offshore wind capacity, particularly from Triton Knoll off the coast of Lincolnshire and Hornsea 2. off the coast of Yorkshire. However, profits still fell short of the 45 345 million raised before the pandemic, which shattered property values in central London. The crown seeks to boost revenue from licensing renewable energy projects, such as static shallow wind farms, carbon sequestration storage and hired floating wind farms. He hopes a floating wind farm designed for the Celtic Sea could generate up to 4 gigawatts of energy. The value of its portfolio in London remained stable at ,7 7.7 billion, underperforming its investment benchmark. “We all have a job to do to get London back on its feet, honestly; we have a lot of confidence in the long-term future of Regent Street,” said Robert Allen, chief financial officer of the Crown. She said the percentage in her shops and restaurants was 38% of levels before the pandemic last year. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Dan Labbad, managing director of the crown estate, added: “In London, we have played a role in its renewal and rebirth for centuries and now we are focusing on supporting the capital after the pandemic to maintain its status as a world city. ” The company said total returns on its investments had exceeded the benchmark and had generated more than 3 3 billion in public spending over the past decade. “We are clear that our role is to work to support the nation in addressing some of the economic, social and environmental challenges and opportunities we face, while providing a strong return on public funding,” Labad said. The company also owns 191,000 acres of land, including Windsor Park in Berkshire, where profits rose by 1 million £ to 18 million £ as the number of visitors returned from the pandemic. Allen said the Crown’s fortune planned to invest between 500 500 billion and 1 1 billion over the next decade to modernize its fortunes and improve the energy efficiency of its buildings.
