Home / Environment / Greenpeace Accuses Crown Estate of "Monopoly Profiteering" on Seabed
Greenpeace Accuses Crown Estate of "Monopoly Profiteering" on Seabed
13 Oct
Summary
- Greenpeace claims Crown Estate treats seabed as "asset to be milked for profit"
- Crown Estate's profits have "skyrocketed" in recent years, now its most lucrative revenue
- King's income to jump 53% due to offshore wind profits from Crown Estate
On October 13, 2025, Greenpeace UK claimed the Crown Estate is treating the seabed as "an asset to be milked for profit and outrageous bonuses", and warned it could take the public body to court. The campaigning organization accused the Crown Estate of "monopoly profiteering", alleging this is inflating energy bills and driving up costs for offshore wind developers and billpayers.
The intervention comes just days before a high-stakes auction where energy companies will compete for rights to build new wind farms on the seabed. The Crown Estate, which manages land and property owned by the King and provides revenue to the Treasury and Royal Household, controls leasing of the seabeds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Greenpeace said the Crown Estate's profits have "skyrocketed" in recent years, turning the seabed into its most lucrative source of revenue. The group also claimed the King's official income will jump from £86.3m this year to £132.1m in 2025-2026, "almost exclusively because of the profits derived from offshore wind".
Without sector reform, Greenpeace warns, the UK's push to expand offshore wind will be undermined by unnecessary costs and inefficiencies. The campaign group is now asking for an urgent review of the bidding process, which, in its current form, passes a hefty burden onto UK billpayers.
