Yü Group PLC
("Yü Group" or the "Group")
Yü Group appointed as Supplier of Last Resort for Ampower's customers by Ofgem
· Additional customer book will add scale and is immediately earnings enhancing
· Customers already seamlessly integrated to Yü Group platform
· Testament to strength of Yü Group and the robust systems and processes in place
Yü Group PLC (AIM; YU.), the independent supplier of gas, electricity and water to the UK corporate sector, has been appointed by Ofgem as Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR) for Ampoweruk Ltd ("Ampower") and agreed to take on their electricity and gas customer book from Sunday 7 November.
Ampower supplied 8,158 predominantly electricity business sites, increasing the Group's meter portfolio by 38%. Group revenues are forecasted to immediately increase by over £7.5 million per month. Earnings will be enhanced immediately.
Under Ofgem's SOLR process, business customers transfer to a new supplier on a flexible, "deemed", basis with a variable tariff reflective of current market conditions. The Group is confident in its ability to retain a significant proportion of the Ampower business customer book, leading to substantial increase in forward contracted revenue.
Yü Group has already integrated the new customers on to the Group's scalable platform; and certain industry processes will continue in the coming days to complete the transfer. The Group is in the process of contacting the customers impacted and will ensure they continue to receive an uninterrupted supply after Ampower ceased trading on 6 November 2021.
In line with the SOLR process, certain costs incurred by Yü Group will be recovered through the established industry levy.
Whilst Yü Group's focus will remain on serving the UK corporate sector, the Group has the necessary capability and experience to serve Ampower's very small number of domestic customers.
The Group has already taken steps to hedge the increased customer demand forecasted in accordance with its robust trading risk mandate.
Underlying trading remains strong as reported at the half year results with the Group continuing to drive profitable growth.
Bobby Kalar, Group Chief Executive Officer, Commented:
"I'm very pleased to have been awarded the Ampower customer book. In recognition of our strong systems and experienced team these customers have already been migrated onto our scalable operating platform seamlessly over the weekend with negligible impact on resource or capacity. Our experience and track record means we are confident the customer transition will be seamless, quick and well communicated.
Our robust hedging strategy and strength of balance sheet are underpinned by a proven business model and a solid and scalable platform. This gives the Board confidence that we are well positioned to deliver a good blended mix of both organic and inorganic growth and we are proud to be in a strong position to allow us to play a part in supporting the industry.
We remain well disciplined, selective and focussed on achieving good profitable growth. I would like to thank my team for their phenomenal performance and unwavering support."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
For further information, please contact:
Yü Group PLC Bobby Kalar Paul Rawson
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+44 (0) 115 975 8258
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SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Jeff Keating Bruce Fraser Caroline Rowe
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+44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Tulchan Group Giles Kernick Olivia Peters Oliver Norgate
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+44 (0) 20 7353 4200
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