Ovo exits parent firm in founder Stephen Fitzpatrick’s latest reshuffle

NICHOLAS EARL

BIG SIX energy supplier Ovo has cut ties with its long-standing parent company Imagination Industries as it shifts into a new corporate entity. Ovo Group revealed in its results last week the company has been transferred to Energy Transition Holdings, with founder Stephen Fitzpatrick the majority shareholder alongside long-term backers.

The decision was overshadowed by a £200m investment boost from backers Mayfair and Morgan Stanley, and a slump in profits from £159m in 2021 to £20m in 2022.

Fitzpatrick’s latest move could ease some of the scrutiny on his business decisions, with the Ovo boss grilled by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee last year concerning brand licence fees and loans to directors.

Imagination Industries was originally set up as Fitzpatrick’s investment vehicle to incubate companies in the early stages. Once investments rise in scale they are spun out of the group, with Ovo’s exit following the listing of Vertical Aerospace in December 2021, which was also part of Imagination.