Greenpeace UK has warned the Crown Estate that it is considering taking legal action unless the public body stops “monopoly profiteering” at the expense of bill payers and offshore wind developers.

Greenpeace argues that the Crown Estate has exploited its monopoly position to charge hefty fees for leases of the seabed, leading to a pricing system that has created higher costs for the wind power sector.

The Crown Estate manages all of the land and property belonging to the King and provides revenue to the Treasury and the Royal Household. As the legal owner of the entire UK seabed outside of Scotland, it runs auctions to lease blocks of seabed to offshore wind developers, generating income from option fees and leasehold rents.

The warning comes ahead of a major auction where energy firms are expected to bid for plots of seabed on which to build new wind farms.

Greenpeace UK co-executive director Will McCallum said: “Given how crucial affordable bills and clean energy are to the government’s agenda, the Chancellor should use her powers of direction to ask for an independent review of how these auctions are run. If the problem isn’t fixed before the next round, we may need to let a court decide whether or not what’s happening is lawful.”

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