stub8535
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personal opinions only. Not qualified to advise on investment products.
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Post by stub8535 on Nov 26, 2016 19:32:44 GMT
I remember seeing something come through about an energy company in Scotland needing funding recently but can not remember the site it was on. As GB energy, a small energy supplier, has just announced it has gone bust, and the reasons behind it, I wanted to alert users that had not yet heard.
Anyone know which site it was on please? There maybe others that are funded through different sites that board members may want to reconsider their risk reward calculations.
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am
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Post by am on Nov 26, 2016 21:07:14 GMT
I remember seeing something come through about an energy company in Scotland needing funding recently but can not remember the site it was on. As GB energy, a small energy supplier, has just announced it has gone bust, and the reasons behind it, I wanted to alert users that had not yet heard. Anyone know which site it was on please? There maybe others that are funded through different sites that board members may want to reconsider their risk reward calculations. After a quick google I have the impression that GB Energy was a retailer, not a generator. (There have been recent loans on AC for wind turbines in Northern Ireland and northwest Scotland. There may be others elsewhere - Abundance has a biomass operator in Wales in its pipeline.)
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stub8535
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personal opinions only. Not qualified to advise on investment products.
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Post by stub8535 on Nov 26, 2016 21:41:36 GMT
Hi am. I stand corrected on terminology.
The borrower I saw was a retailer seeking, now I come to think of it, crowd funding and was based outside Edinburgh.
I am aware of the difference between a generator and a retailer and see that the business pressures stated by GB energy would more likely impact a retailer, unless the generator used a resource priced in USD or was too small to forward hedge their supply price. For these reasons I include both.
I take your point that wind, wave and energy from waste loans would not fall into this category.
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Post by mrclondon on Nov 26, 2016 22:16:35 GMT
Phew, a load of hassle neatly sidestepped ! I was a GB Energy customer until 3 months ago when they hiked their prices massively (variable pricing only, no fixed rate pricing was ever offered) so I moved to another small energy provider (Avro Energy). The sort of customer that had taken the effort to switch to GB Energy is very likely the sort of customer who (like me) would switch away as soon as the prices became uncompetitive. Their website front page www.gbenergysupply.co.uk/ has a brief explanation dated today (26th Nov). EDIT: With hindsight that explains why they took an awful long time to return my credit balance with them after my supply had moved. They obviously had cashflow problems. |
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SteveT
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Post by SteveT on Nov 26, 2016 22:28:05 GMT
Drat, I jumped onto a really good fixed rate with them about 4 months ago (I probably sent them over the edge when I turned up the thermostat  ) |
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jonno
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nil satis nisi optimum
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Post by jonno on Nov 27, 2016 12:44:07 GMT
Thankfully this ones not on ReB's loan book.  True enough; but it didn't stop me landing on the same fixed rate deal as SteveT  . I just hope the name of the replacement for GB given to us by Ofgem doesn't include the same letters but in a slightly different order  .
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ben
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Post by ben on Nov 27, 2016 13:02:15 GMT
I doubt it matter to much as you be able to switch pretty quick and I doubt they be able to put in the usual pay to get out clause.
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jonno
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nil satis nisi optimum
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Post by jonno on Nov 27, 2016 13:13:55 GMT
I doubt it matter to much as you be able to switch pretty quick and I doubt they be able to put in the usual pay to get out clause. I know, but I swore to my missus that ever rejoining "Grittish Bas" would be over my dead body, and I don't want to give her any excuse 
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Post by inskip75 on Nov 27, 2016 15:00:30 GMT
Just for interest but this company is near me and if you look on google maps on the A6 at the crossroads with B5269 north of M55 J1 you can see the new offices being built - if you get down to street view.
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SteveT
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GB energy
Nov 29, 2016 20:25:23 GMT
via mobile
Post by SteveT on Nov 29, 2016 20:25:23 GMT
Thankfully this ones not on ReB's loan book. True enough; but it didn't stop me landing on the same fixed rate deal as SteveT . I just hope the name of the replacement for GB given to us by Ofgem doesn't include the same letters but in a slightly different order . Well, we're Co-op Energy customers now, and they're honouring existing prices for the term of the existing contracts 😃
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james
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Post by james on Nov 30, 2016 0:53:08 GMT
That's nice of them. Must regard it as a cheaper customer acquisition tool than others...  |
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SteveT
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Post by SteveT on Nov 30, 2016 7:57:26 GMT
That's nice of them. Must regard it as a cheaper customer acquisition tool than others... Although they won't retain many of them for long unless they keep their future prices very keen. GB Energy customers are, almost by definition, the ultimate energy price tarts
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ben
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Post by ben on Dec 3, 2016 16:15:09 GMT
Got to give them bonus points for keeping on the staff at GB energy to doubt any of the other power companies would have done.
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Post by mrclondon on Jan 9, 2017 2:24:47 GMT
Whilst catching up on last month's issues of Moneyweek, I spotted an interesting footnote to this story (ref issue 824, page 22, final para)
"However, if you are a customer of a small supplier that is still trading and you plan to leave because you are uncertain about its future, act carefully. If you are in the process of leaving a supplier when it goes bust, you aren't covered by Ofgem's pledge to refund credit balances. So if you want to switch, ask for a refund of your credit balance, and give an up-to-date meter reading before you start the switching process."
(my bold)
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jjc
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Post by jjc on Jan 21, 2017 16:05:35 GMT
Haven’t delved but here an investment opp with a newco looking to adopt an innovative approach with its energy customers. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ourenergywww.ourenergy.com/Crux seems to be investors=customers who own the company & get good (but not guaranteed lowest price possible) terms & 75% of profits made. The biz model is based on a cost plus pricing model (to avoid the sort of problems GB Energy experienced) with refunds made via the profit share. Not sure what exits available. “Lean” & “Green” tariff options offered, might appeal to some here. Text below from a paywalled article that brought them to my notice. Funding raised so far now £94k. A UK couple is pioneering a new crowdfunding project, reaching out to consumers across Britain to help start up a transparent energy company in response to the big six’s “contempt for customers”.
The Our Energy project aims to give consumers with rising prices, lack of transparency and poor customer service opportunity to ‘chip in’ to create a customer owned energy company. The supplier looks to offer a transparent service through sharing details on salaries, decisions, accounts and prices with its customers.
David Pike and Karin Sode are leading the initiative which aims to crowdfund £450,000 and to make Our Energy operational in 2017. At time of writing the project had raised raised £59,490.
The company plans to give 75 per cent of its profits back to its customers, who will be represented on the board of directors. Our Energy customers will also become part owners of the company after three years with the supplier.
Promoting the crowdfunding project, Pike said that UK consumers have “quite rightly lost trust in their energy suppliers”.
Our Energy customers will “never need to switch supplier again” due to their ownership role in the company with “complete trust in its practices”, said Pike. He claims that the project will “bring democracy and transparency to the UK’s energy market”.
Karin Sode added: “Energy comes from natural resources that should belong to us all, not private entities. We are absolutely passionate about returning ownership of this natural resource to consumers.”
“We are crowdfunding for Our Energy because we don’t want private shareholders we need to answer to: our customers will be our shareholders.”
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)
. I just hope the name of the replacement for GB given to us by Ofgem doesn't include the same letters but in a slightly different order 
.
