The UK Crown Estate Reports £1.15bn Annual Profit, Mostly from Offshore Wind Farm Leasing

The UK Crown Estate, responsible for managing King Charles’ public property, has announced an annual net profit of £1.15bn ($1.57bn). The majority of this profit is attributed to the offshore wind farm leasing tender Round 4.

This year’s profit contributes to a total of £5bn ($6.9bn) that the Crown Estate has delivered to the Treasury over the past decade.

Out of the total £1.15bn ($1.58bn) profits for the year spanning April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, approximately £1.07bn ($1.47bn) was generated from the offshore wind farm leasing tender Round 4.

All profits earned by the Crown Estate are reinvested back into the Treasury for public spending. The Round 4 option fees have significantly boosted short-term profits for the second consecutive year.

Looking ahead, income from Round 4 is projected to decrease to £25m ($35.7m) per year starting January 2026 as projects transition into the construction phase. The organisation anticipates that net revenue profits will gradually stabilize at more standard levels.

Round 4 aims to produce up to 8GW of clean energy capacity, sufficient to power eight million homes. The Round 5 process, targeting up to 4.5GW of floating offshore wind, recently saw Equinor and Gwynt Glas, a joint venture between EDF Renewables and ESB, selected as preferred bidders for two separate projects in June 2025.

The Crown Estate is actively exploring various options for a third site to ensure the full potential capacity for Round 5 is realized.

Furthermore, a Capacity Increase Programme is set to add 4.7GW to the current 12GW capacity of existing wind farms off England and Wales.

With a total offshore wind pipeline potential of 50GW off England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the region currently has nearly 17GW in the planning or consented stages and 13GW either under construction or with a contract for difference in place.