Shell Petroleum Company, through its 100% owned subsidiary Impello Limited, has agreed to sell its home energy businesses, Shell Energy Retail Limited (SERL) in the UK and Shell Energy Retail GmbH (SERG) in Germany, to Octopus Energy Group.
The businesses provide domestic gas, power, and broadband services to approximately two million customers and operate under the Shell Energy brand. The transaction has an effective date of September 1, 2023 and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approval.
Octopus is a leading energy retail company which provides innovative energy solutions to residential customers and operates in 15 countries.
Tariffs and offers will remain unchanged for all existing home energy customers, including continued access to 100% renewable power. Customer service will not be interrupted and, following regulatory approval and deal completion, both companies will ensure a seamless transfer of the businesses and eventually brand from Shell Energy to Octopus.
'This agreement follows the announcement during our Capital Markets Day to divest our home energy retail business in Europe,' said Steve Hill, Executive Vice-President, Shell Energy. 'To drive performance, discipline and simplification, we are prioritising countries, projects, and routes to market where we can deliver the most value. We will work closely with Octopus to ensure a seamless transition and continued high standards of customer service.'
As part of the agreement, Shell and Octopus have also signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential international partnership to bring the best possible experience to their EV charging customers, including Shell Recharge subscribers. Options will be explored for possible joint promotions and brand activations, alongside co-operation on out-of-home charging and other activities across the EV value chain. Shell is already a leading EV charging provider with a global charging network set to expand to around 200,000 public charging points by 2030.
- Shell continues to use the renewable power it generates to serve its customers, decarbonise its assets and to enable the production of low-carbon molecules. The company focuses on opportunities where it can integrate across the value chain through trading and optimisation.
- Following regulatory approval and completion of the sale, ownership of the businesses will transfer to Octopus and existing Shell Energy customers will remain under the Shell brand for several months while technology and digital communications are migrated to the Octopus brand.
- Other home energy supply markets for Shell in the USA and Australia, where there is integrated value, as well as Shell’s wholesale and small to medium enterprise (SME) customer supply businesses under the Shell Energy brand, are not included in this sales agreement.
- Shell is winding down its home energy retail business in the Netherlands and is in the process of transitioning those customers.
Source: Shell
