Brits flock to sign up for green energy start-up Bulb as revenue hits £1.5bn

Bulb CEO Hayden Wood

Credit: Julian Andrews

Britons jumping on the green power movement spurred a spike in sales at renewable energy supplier Bulb last year, sending revenue almost doubling as it cut its losses.

Bulb, which provides customers with 100pc renewable electricity and gas which is carbon neutral, said the number of people using its service in the UK was up 46pc last year, and it was now in 1.7 million properties.

Revenues for the year came in at £1.5bn compared to £823m a year earlier, helping narrow operating losses from £128m from £59m.

The company said this growth meant it more than doubled its headcount over the course of the year, and by the end of December had 510 staff, up from 203 a year earlier.

Bulb, which is backed by billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global, said it was continuing to work towards its goal of having more than 100 million members globally by 2030, growing both in the UK and expanding internationally in France, Spain and the US.

In the UK there is growing consumer appetite for renewable energy options. Currently 28pc of Britain’s electricity coming from renewable energy such as solar, wind or hydro power, according to the Energy Savings Trust. The group says this figure is expected to grow in the coming years.

Ministers are on a major green push, laying out targets last December to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68pc by the end of the decade, compared to 1990 levels.

As part of the ten point plan, the Government said it was aiming to quadruple its offshore wind capacity, with costs having come down by two thirds in the last five years. 

This would "generate more power than all our homes use today," the Government had said. 

Bulb is classed as one of the UK’s fastest growing start-ups. Co-founders Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka were listed in the top twenty of the Telegraph’s Tech Hot 100 list last year. In February, Mr Gudka said he was leaving the business to set up a new start-up in energy storage.

Although the company signalled it expected to grow further this year, it did suggest it may take some hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In its filings on Companies House, Bulb said it was readying for non-repayment rates to rise due to many people having been placed on furlough over the last year.

"Additional resources were allocated to the teams responsible for debt collection," it said, although added that it had not yet seen a "significant change" to how customers were paying.