Octopus Energy has quickly risen to become the UK’s second-largest energy supplier — no small feat given the largest, British Gas, is more than two hundred years its senior.
The company, which is still privately owned, also has retail operations in Germany, the USA, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and New Zealand. Its investors include Canadian pension fund CPP Investment, Al Gore-founded climate fund Generation Investment Management, Australian energy company Origin Energy and Japanese energy company Tokyo Gas.
Acquisitions have been a central part of the company’s expansion strategy, and although Octopus started its acquisitions spree before the energy crisis, it pounced when some of its less fortunate peers went into administration after that: most notably Bulb, a fellow energy scaleup which collapsed at the end of 2021.
Although it doesn’t have a dedicated M&A team, Octopus says three people in its strategy team work on acquisitions — which are focused on energy suppliers and tech for its tech arm, Kraken. Octopus confirmed all of the acquisitions below with Sifted.
Energy supplier acquisitions
Over the last few years, Octopus has acquired nine retail energy companies across the UK, America, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, using them as a way to enter new markets — and to expand its customer base in its home market.
- Affect Energy: A British energy provider, which was acquired by Octopus in 2018.
- Avro Energy: Another British energy provider, acquired by Octopus in 2021 after the company entered administration.
- Bulb: Octopus acquired UK energy supplier Bulb in 2022. Bulb was the largest casualty of the energy crisis, supplying 1.5m customers at the time it went into administration.
- Evolve Energy: Silicon Valley startup Evolve Energy was acquired by Octopus in 2020 as its first foray into the American market.
- Plum Energie: France-based energy supplier Plum Energie was acquired by Octopus in 2022 and marked its entry into the French market.
- SATO Luce e Gas: Based in Italy, energy supplier SATO was acquired by Octopus in 2021.
- Shell Energy Retail: Octopus acquired Shell’s retail arm, a subsidiary of Shell Petroleum, at the end of 2023, taking on 1.3m customers in the UK and Germany
- Umeme: Spanish energy supplier Umeme was acquired by Octopus in 2021, to serve as its launchpad “across the Mediterranean”.
- 4hundred: Munich-based energy supplier 4hundred was acquired by Octopus in 2019 as its first step into the German market.
Tech acquisitions
As well as supplying energy to consumers, Octopus runs a tech arm, Kraken. It manages energy generation and domestic energy tech (EVs, solar panels and batteries), as well as providing customers with data on their energy usage.
Growing Kraken has also meant acquisitions, says Tim Heal, group strategy director at Octopus. “We’re always looking for smart ways to improve Kraken’s tech stack, and sometimes that means joining forces with other leaders in the space,” he says.
- Configurable: New Zealand-based Configurable makes smart grid software, allowing Octopus to integrate domestic energy tech like heat pumps and EV charging. The acquisition also helped the company launch its retail services in New Zealand.
- Depsys: Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Depsys was acquired by Octopus in 2022. Its tech provides analytics and real-time monitoring to energy network operators.
- Kwest: Berlin-based Kwest is Octopus’s most recent acquisition, taking place in January 2024. Kwest’s software manages the installation of heat pumps and smart metres.
- Sennen: Bristol, UK-based Sennen was acquired by Octopus in December 2023. Its tech provides real-time monitoring of large-scale renewable energy projects.
- Upside Energy: Manchester, UK-based Upside Energy was acquired by Octopus in 2020 to boost its smart grid tech — part of Kraken which manages things like solar panels and EV charging stations. Octopus has set up a tech hub in Manchester.
Octopus has said it is targeting 100m customer accounts managed by Kraken technology globally by 2027 (a figure that includes its own customers and the customers of other energy firms that use Kraken.)
Energy hardware
Octopus has also acquired companies working on hardware that could help decarbonise the grid. In 2022 it acquired Northern Ireland-based RED, a heat pump manufacturer.
In 2021, Octopus Energy acquired Octopus Renewables (which was previously owned by one of its investors, Octopus Investments). The vehicle — now known as Octopus Energy Generation — invests in renewable energy projects, including wind and solar. Octopus also backed Xlinks, a giant sea cable set to bring solar power from Morocco to the UK.
“We’re planning to unleash at least another $25bn of investment into global renewables by 2030,” says Heal.
What’s next?
There are more acquisitions on the cards. “We expect to acquire more companies globally, and in the same areas we’ve invested in so far, as we continue to grow,” says Heal.
The firm posted its first yearly profit in 2023 at £203m and said it was valued at "almost $8bn" in December 2023.
This article was updated on March 21st 2023 to reflect correct Octopus' valuation and the number of accounts it is targeting.
