Octopus Energy has struck a deal to become one of the UK’s fastest growing energy suppliers after agreeing to buy a smaller rival.
The energy challenger brand told its staff on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Co-op Energy, which supplies gas and electricity to about 300,000 homes.
Octopus, which supplies 850,000 customers, is expected to confirm early on Thursday that the deal will nudge its business past 1 million customers after only four years in the market.
The deal, thought to be worth more than £30m, propels Octopus to within a whisker of rival supplier Bulb Energy, which supplies 1.4 million customers and is the UK’s fastest growing new supplier.
It follows a flurry of deals within the energy market which is beginning to consolidate after a flood of new suppliers joined the market in recent years, many of which have proved financially unstable.
Co-Op Energy snapped up 160,000 customers from GB Energy Supply after it collapsed in 2016, and then gained another 130,000 customers after its takeover of
Flow Energy last year.