Cuadrilla investment reaches £10m

Fracking firm Cuadrilla has revealed that its direct and indirect investments into Lancashire have now exceeded £10m since January 1, 2016.

The company, which secured another milestone permit this week, is mandated to invest in the county and publish a regular tracker.

The latest Putting Lancashire First figures include spend up to June 30 and have been independently verified by Blackpool-based accountant Danbro.

During the second quarter of 2018, Cuadrilla’s direct spend with suppliers in the county increased to £8.93m. Indirect spend to the local economy, the amount of money Cuadrilla’s suppliers have sub contracted to other suppliers based in Lancashire, stands at £1.1m.

The company has also increased its sponsorship of local initiatives in Lancashire with £220,000 invested in community projects to date, including an extended partnership with the AFC Fylde Community Foundation to support a number of new community projects, from adult education programmes to community-based family sports schemes, to provide more positive opportunities for people living on the Fylde coast. Francis Egan, CEO of Cuadrilla, said: “This is a milestone year for Cuadrilla, with the completion of our two horizontal exploration wells at Preston New Road. I am delighted to see that our exploratory work is already significantly delivering for the Lancashire economy with over £10m invested to date."