A company linked to the United Arab Emirates royals has approached one of the UK’s pioneering green electricity suppliers over a potential takeover.
Wiltshire-based Good Energy, which supplies renewable energy to about 245,000 households, said it had received an unsolicited takeover offer from Dubai-based Esyasoft on Friday.
Esyasoft, which describes itself as being at the forefront of smart grid technology, is ultimately controlled by the Abu Dhabi International Holding Company (IHC), the investment company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the UAE’s founder and part of the Abu Dhabi ruling family.
Launched in 1999 by Juliet Davenport, Good Energy was one of the first “challenger” suppliers to compete with established companies such as British Gas, and supplies renewable energy to homes, as well as installing heat pumps, solar panels and batteries into homes.
In addition to being supplied by Good Energy, about 180,000 of its customers also supply extra energy their solar panels produce to the grid through the feed-in tariff system.
In its update to the stock market on Monday, Good Energy said it was evaluating the offer but said there was still no certainty on what the terms of the offer would be, or if an offer would be made at all. Esyasoft now has until 25 November to make a firm offer.
Good Energy’s shares have leapt by more than 22% after the news.
Good Energy also revealed it had agreed a deal to buy the Hampshire-based rooftop solar power company Empower Energy for £7m.
The acquisition marks the fifth takeover by the Good Energy in the past two years, including the solar power installation firms EcoEnergy, which was based in Dorchester, Dorset, and JPS Group, which was based in Maidstone, Kent.
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In 2022, it made its first move into the heat pump installation sector with acquisition of Igloo Works.
Davenport stepped down after a 20-year role with the company and was replaced by Nigel Pocklington.
The company was censured by the energy watchdog Ofgem last year, when it was ordered to pay £1.25m after being found to have overcharged 7,000 households a total of £391,650, or about £109 on their energy bills.
