Octopus’ value tops £7 billion following new investment

Shareholders have invested a further £295 million in Octopus Energy, bringing its value to £7.2 billion.

The deal increases the company’s valuation by 15% since the last investment round in December 2023.

Generation Investment Management secured backing from US and Australian pension funds and now owns 13% of the Octopus group. Canada Pension Plan increased its investment and now holds a 12% stake.

In December Octopus raised more than £500 million, bringing the total it has secured from global investors to more than £1.6 billion in eight years.

The extra money will enable the company to grow its profile in the US as it plans to extend the reach of its Kraken platform technology after securing its first deal in 2023.

“Bringing globally respected long-term investors on board helps raise our profile in key markets, and open up new opportunities to continue our international expansion,” Greg Jackson, Octopus chief executive, said.

“I’m delighted to partner with more pension funds, including Aware Super, and am excited at the prospect of accelerating Octopus and Kraken in North America and beyond, and continuing to invest in technologies that drive a smarter, cheaper energy system.”

The Kraken platform has been most recently adopted by Leep Utilities, which said the system would enable its smart meter rollout to enhance water efficiency and the digitisation of its operations. Leep, which owns and operates last-mile utility networks for UK developers, contractors and consultants, began using Kraken last year and has now fully migrated to the platform.

Octopus overtook British Gas as the UK’s largest electricity supplier with its customer base tipping 6.8 million households last week.