Home battery company GivEnergy has appointed administrators after falling profits amid ‘significant price cuts on products from foreign competitors’.
The company last week (April 9) appointed liquidator Christopher Brooksbank of CB Business Recovery at the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts in Leeds (according to a government announcement).
Trade organization Energy Storage Association (ESA) has drawn up useful advice list of frequently asked questions (FAQs)clarifying that the GivEnergy entity responsible for managing operational systems is separate and not under management. So there is no change in the operation of installed GivEnergy batteries.
The ESA added that it “…does not view the company’s difficulties as indicative of the wider market, which remains an attractive growth market”. It added that it is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to understand the matter and come up with solutions to ensure continuity of service in the event of future business failures in the sector.
Factors leading to administration
GivEnergy’s latest annual report on Companies House, for 2024, points to possible factors behind the slide into administration.
It had a turnover of £50.3 million (up 1.8% year on year), but swung to an operating loss of £6.5 million, compared to a profit of £6.2 million the year before.
The report explains the results as follows: “The company experienced strong demand in the first half of the year as the VAT exemption came into effect from February 1.”
“The company was unable to capitalize on the sustained increase in demand in the second half of the year due to poor leadership and strategic decisions by the then CEO, who failed to respond to the threats posed by significant price cuts for products from foreign competitors. There is also a lack of governance by the then chief financial officer.”
‘Serious setback for the sector as a whole’
In a note on the news saying it is taking GivEnergy’s products private, Midsummer Energy, a renewable energy technology wholesaler, said: ‘GivEnergy has been one of the key players in the UK battery storage market in recent years, and their situation is a serious setback for the sector as a whole.’
Dave Roberts, British director of the company, spoke to Energy-Storage.news in 2024 about the evolution of the UK home battery market (Premium access article). In that conversation he claimed the company had a 35% share of the UK home battery market.
Then give energy launched its latest product, the All in One 2, in November last year.
