Yu Group chief executive Bobby Kalar believes movements within the energy market are creating the perfect opportunities for the company to pursue its growth ambitions.
On Monday (10 August) it was revealed that the company, which provides energy and water services to the business sector, had acquired Bristol Energy’s business customer book for £1.34 million.
The deal will see Yu Group increase its meter point portfolio by around 40 per cent, with the addition of the council-backed supplier’s c.4,000 meter points to its existing base of around 9,800.
Speaking to Utility Week following the announcement, Kalar said he believed the market will see more movement in the year ahead.
He said: “I think the market is ripe for a shakeup. Too many companies have come in, they have not moved in time with technology and they have not layered in automated digital services as we have. They are rapidly realising that this is not a game for 3-4,000 customer books, you have really got to build and value that portfolio.
“We saw Eon acquiring Npower last year, we’ve seen SSE selling to Ovo and I firmly believe there will be more movement in the market in 2020-21. That falls nicely into our ability and appetite to take on these acquisitions, or the best parts of these acquisitions, scaling our business and keep using our platforms to service our customers.”
As part of the deal, the majority of Bristol Energy’s business energy staff will move across to Yu.
Meanwhile Bristol City Council says a target deal for the domestic residential side of Bristol Energy is being progressed separately and is still subject to negotiation.