Ovo Energy and SSE retail company (bought by Ovo Energy in 2020) are both owned by Imagination Industries, which is wholly owned by billionaire Stephen Fitzpatrick.
Energy
In many other countries including France, Germany, Italy and the US, it’s normal to have publicly owned suppliers selling electricity and gas directly to consumers. But in the UK we don’t have that option.
70% of UK households get their energy from the Big 5 retail companies:
British Gas is owned by Centrica, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and mostly owned by institutional investors
E.ON is owned by E.ON SE, a German multinational operating in over 30 countries
Ovo Energy and SSE retail company (bought by Ovo Energy in 2020) are both owned by Imagination Industries, which is wholly owned by billionaire Stephen Fitzpatrick
EDF (Electricite De France) is owned by the French state
Scottish Power is owned by Spanish company Iberdrola - as of 2023 its largest shareholder is the Qatar Investment Authority
Source: 'A fairer energy system for families and the climate’, July 2022, TUC
The four parent companies mentioned above (Centrica, E.ON SE, EDF and Iberdrola) own many smaller companies across the world. Supplying electricity and gas to UK households is a small part of their operations.
Buying back their UK retail businesses would cost around £2.85 billion - much less than the nearly £30 billion the government has spent during the energy crisis. Find out more about public energy here.
If you want to find out who owns our energy NETWORKS (transmission and distribution) we'll have information on that here soon.
Read more about the Big 5 energy retail companies below.
Owned by Centrica, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and mostly owned by institutional investors.
Owned by E.ON SE, a German multinational operating in over 30 countries.
Électricité de France (EDF) is owned by the French government.
Owned by Spanish company Iberdrola - as of 2023 its largest shareholder is the Qatar Investment Authority.