E.ON plans Ovo takeover to create Britain’s biggest energy supplier

E.ON’s planned takeover of Ovo would reshape Britain’s household energy market, but for customers the immediate message is simple: existing tariffs will be honoured in full and gas and electricity supply will continue as usual while regulators assess the deal.

The German-owned supplier said the acquisition, announced on 11 May 2026, would add about four million Ovo customers to its existing UK base of around 5.6 million, creating a group with roughly 9.6 million to 9.7 million customers and overtaking Octopus Energy as Britain’s biggest supplier by customer numbers. Until the transaction closes, expected in the second half of 2026, E.ON Next and Ovo will keep operating independently.

That matters for households because the deal still needs approval from the Competition and Markets Authority, which will judge whether the enlarged business changes competition in a market that has already been under pressure from years of supplier failures and price shocks. Ovo was the UK’s fourth-biggest supplier in April 2026, with a 11.7% share of electricity customers and 9.8% of gas customers, and its scale already gives it a national footprint that reaches far beyond a niche challenger brand.

Ovo’s finances help explain why the sale has moved so quickly. The company, founded in 2009 and expanded when it bought SSE’s household retail business in 2020, posted a £135 million net loss in 2024 and warned last year that “material uncertainty” clouded its future because of pressure to meet Ofgem financial resilience targets. As part of the planned deal, Ovo also agreed to sell its Home Services business, including Corgi Homeplan and Homeheat, to Hometree.

E.ON said the enlarged group would fit its strategy around customer-led flexibility, smart tariffs, home batteries, EV charging and digital energy services. Chris Norbury said the transaction was about customers being in control and about new energy that works for everyone. Ovo founder Stephen Fitzpatrick said the move was the right next step for customers, colleagues and long-term decarbonisation.

The purchase price has not been disclosed, though it has been put at about £600 million. The deal also carries a personal stake for Fitzpatrick, who could receive around £300 million from the sale and is still owed £30 million under a licensing agreement for the Ovo brand. For households, the immediate test is not the headline valuation but whether a larger supplier can improve service without dulling competition in bills, switching and support.