Former SSE boss Ian Marchant invests in London smart home startup January 21, 2019 A London-based smart home technology startup, backed by the former chief of SSE Ian Marchant, today announced that it has raised £2m in a new funding round. Den, which has now raised a total of £5m, is also backed by Mark Davies, a founder of Betfair. Read more: Stay on top of your resolutions with the [...]
As competition heats up, meet the energy company taking on the Big Six by cutting consumption January 14, 2019 You know the drill: energy companies lure you in with a cheap introductory rate, and once it expires, you’ve either got to repeat the hassle of shopping around for a new deal, or you’re automatically moved onto the provider’s expensive default tariff – otherwise known as the standard variable rate (SVR). This isn’t a glitch [...]
SSE to sell 50 per cent stake in its telecoms arm for £380m in bid to cut debt December 21, 2018 Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) is set to sell a 50 per cent stake in its telecoms business to Infracapital for a fee of around £380m. The company announced the planned sale to the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Prudential on Friday as it tries to reduce its debt. It comes as part of a wider restructuring [...]
SSE abandons takeover of rival energy provider Npower as government price cap takes its toll December 17, 2018 A planned merger between SSE and Innogy's Npower will no longer be going ahead, after the two gas and electricity firms were unable to reach an agreement on "revised commercial terms". SSE announced this morning that its board has decided the merger is "not in the best interests of customers, employees or stakeholders" following further discussions with [...]
SSE blames high gas prices for 40 per cent collapse in profits November 14, 2018 SSE saw profits suffer a 41 per cent drop this morning, driven by “persistently high” gas prices, as the energy firm cast doubt over its merger with rival Npower. The figures Adjusted pre-tax profits were down 40.9 per cent year on year to £246.4m in the six months to the end of September, the company announced [...]
SSE expected to announce profit drop as Npower merger hits snag November 11, 2018 Big Six energy company SSE is expected to announce a 43 per cent drop in profit for the first half of the year in its results on Wednesday. On Thursday SSE said the anticipated merger of SSE Energy Services with Npower would be delayed beyond the first quarter of 2019 in order to renegotiate commercial [...]
UK’s largest energy companies saw profits drop in 2017 October 11, 2018 The profit and market share of the UK's six largest energy suppliers dropped as more customers switched providers last year. Annual profits dropped by 10 per cent to £900m last year, the first fall since 2014, according to a report by energy industry regulator Ofgem, following an increase in competition. Read more: DEBATE: Does the energy market [...]
SSE’s merger with Npower gets the all-clear from UK competition watchdog October 10, 2018 The merger of two major energy firms in the UK has been given final clearance by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), paving the way for SSE Energy and Npower to join together as a newly listed company on the London Stock Exchange. The CMA published its final ruling this morning, after the merger was [...]
Telecom giants announce new fibre deal to develop London’s infrastructure September 28, 2018 Three of the UK's largest telecom giants have announced a new agreement to develop London's fibre access, improving the capital's communication infrastructure. SSE Enterprise Telecoms (SSE), Three UK and Telefonica UK (O2) will engage in further fibre rollouts, extending SSE's fibre ring in central London through the capital's sewer system. The partnership could also significantly [...]
Ofgem investigates complaints handling at four energy firms, calling industry performance ‘unacceptably low’ September 27, 2018 Ofgem today announced it has opened investigations into four energy firms' complaints procedures, blasting the industry's performance on handling complaints as “unacceptably low”. The watchdog is investigating complaints handling at First Utility, Ovo Energy, Utilita and Scottish Power. Read more: SSE share price suffers as it issues profit warning It has also demanded that [...]