EDF to buy Pod Point for £10.6m amid ‘slow' electric car adoption
The energy giant said a takeover was the 'only realistic prospect' of allowing Pod Point to keep operating as a business for the future.
EDF was already a majority shareholder and the deal means it will take over the rest of the group.
Pod Point, which has a network of more than 250,000 charging points in the UK, said at the start of the year that it was facing a 'difficult market backdrop'.
Pure battery electric cars made up just under a fifth of the new car market last year.
This is despite the Government's zero-emission vehicles (Zev) mandate requiring carmakers to ensure 22% of their sales were pure electric.
EDF, which currently owns 53% of shares, said the company has consistently been reliant on it for funding and financial support.
Pod Point said on Thursday it has been impacted by the slower-than-expected adoption of EVs and increased competition, meaning it has struggled to make a profit.
EDF said acquiring the business would provide 'long-term stability' that would enable it to invest in its charging products.
It has offered 6.5p per Pod Point share, valuing the company at about £10.6 million. It needs to be approved by shareholders.
The business floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 and was valued at about £350 million, but saw its share price drop rapidly from the 275p it peaked at.
Its shares were suspended in April after receiving a takeover approach from EDF, and saying it would therefore have to delay publishing its full-year financial results.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Top Gear
6 minutes ago
- Top Gear
Mercedes-Benz CLA Interior Layout & Technology
Except the passenger screen is optional, and if you don't pay, you just get a big slab of black plastic speckled with star emblems. It's not the most aesthetic of solutions. Plus, it's a LOT of screens. Now here's where it gets interesting. The CLA can come with an MBUX Superscreen that consists of an entire dash of screens: a 10.25-inch driver's display, a 14-inch central touchscreen and another 14-inch passenger screen from which passengers can dull their frontal cortex with YouTube shorts. But before you decry the haptic-awfulness of touchscreen dominance, there's another way to communicate with the CLA that works better than most; you just talk to it. Merc's new Virtual Assistant is infused with artificial intelligence from Microsoft and Google, can sense your mood (and act accordingly) and even has a short-term memory. What that means is that you can ask/tell the system pretty complicated things and it (generally) works them out. So you can adjust the relevant parts of the car (air-con, radio, sat-nav, phone etc), but also ask it to find you a Thai restaurant that serves a particular dish, or a pub that serves Sunday roast that also allows dogs. It'll learn, accrete habits, do all the usual, even deliver over-the-air updates for complex systems that should keep the CLA relevant in terms of future-proofing. Very clever, if that's your bag, though it has so many possible functions it'd take a while to get used to and make the most of it. Sometimes you just want to drive somewhere. What about the actual interior? The rest of the interior is well-made and spacious, with some nice materials. Big, floating centre console with cupholders and wireless charging pad, plenty of storage and visual interest.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Number of offers made to prospective students by universities at record high
The number of offers made to prospective undergraduate students from universities and colleges has reached a record high, Ucas figures show. More than nine in 10 (94.5%) of all students who applied before the January deadline are going into the results period having received at least one offer, according to the university admissions service. As of June 30, the final deadline to apply to up to five courses simultaneously, more than two million main scheme offers had been made by universities and colleges – a rise of 3.8% compared with last year. Increases in offers from universities and colleges can be seen across all major applicant groups, but the largest increases can be seen for international applicants outside of the EU which are up 10.7%. It comes as university leaders have been warning of financial concerns due to a drop in the number of overseas students – who can be charged higher tuition fees – following restrictions introduced by the former Tory government. Universities are in a 'scramble for students' in a bid to avoid redundancies and course closures due to growing financial pressures, a higher education expert has suggested. The latest Ucas figures, released on Thursday, show that the number of UK 18-year-old applicants to courses by June 30 has reached a record high of 328,390, up 2.2% compared with the same point last year. But the data, which has been published ahead of A-level results day next month, shows that the application rate – the proportion of the 18-year-old population in the UK who applied – has fallen to 41.2% from 41.9% last year. Overall, the total number of applicants – of all ages and all domiciles – has risen to 665,070 this year, a 1.3% increase compared with 2024. There have been 138,460 international undergraduate applicants through Ucas, an increase of 2.2% compared with the same point last year. The data shows a new record number of applicants from China, up by 10% to 33,870 applicants this year, as well as year-on-year increases in applicants from Nigeria (plus 23%) and the USA ( plus 14%). Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, told the PA news agency: 'Universities nearly always prefer to fill their places than to have to close courses or make staff redundant, so I am not surprised that they are in such a scramble for students. 'Moreover, universities currently lose money on average on each home student but, if you can enrol a few more students on lots of your courses, then fewer of your courses will make a financial loss. 'There is also a fear among some universities of applicants moving up the 'prestige chain' by securing a place at the most selective university they can, meaning some universities think they need to make more offers than they otherwise might.' He added: 'It is very worrying that the participation rate among 18-year-olds is down because it means the post-Covid picture of falling demand among school leavers is persisting. 'We need to ask if falling demand for higher education is now a trend rather than a blip. 'It seems the cost of living among students is biting and that some school leavers are waiting to see if other options come good.' Jo Saxton, chief executive at Ucas, said: 'The record number of UK 18-year-old applicants, and record number of offers being made to prospective undergraduate students, reflects real confidence in the higher education sector. 'It's great to see young people eager to take the next step in their educational and career journey, and universities and colleges committed to welcoming them. 'In the run-up to results day, I'd like to remind students and their families to remember that while the vast majority of applicants secure their first choice each year, it's always worth having a plan B. 'My advice is to begin by revisiting all of your original five choices on your Ucas application as your starting point.' A spokesperson for Universities UK (UUK) said: 'The proportion of 18-year-olds going to university is relatively stable, after a long period of growth, and in terms of absolute numbers of applications, it is a record year. 'These applicants will form the future workforce, and our country desperately needs the skills that universities will equip them with. 'Government data shows that some of the UK's highest potential employment sectors are hungry for people with graduate level skills.'
Times
34 minutes ago
- Times
Renault shares crash as Vauxhall owner scraps hydrogen vehicles
The owner of Vauxhall Motors has scrapped plans to develop its hydrogen fuel cell technology programme and will no longer launch a range of hydrogen-powered vehicles this year. Stellantis, which also owns Peugeot, Citroën and Alfa Romeo, said that the limited availability of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and lack of strong consumer purchasing incentives meant that the vehicles remained unavailable. Jean-Philippe Imparato, chief operating officer for the enlarged Europe region of Stellantis, said: 'The hydrogen market remains a niche segment, with no prospects of midterm economic sustainability. • Drivers to be given up to £3,750 to switch to electric cars 'We must make clear and responsible choices to ensure our competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers with our electric and hybrid passenger and light commercial vehicles offensive.' The decision marks a significant turnaround for Stellantis which in 2022 announced what is said would have the first manufacturing plant in the world to produce hydrogen-powered electric vehicles. At the time it said that by 2024 it expected it would have a production capacity of 5,000 vehicles per year. The company added that its decision to discontinue its hydrogen-powered vehicles would not impact staffing levels, with research and development redirected to other projects. Stellantis's announcement comes as Renault shares fell sharply after it lowered its guidance for the year following weaker than expected sales in June. The French car manufacturer said that it was now targeting an operating margin of about 6.5 per cent for 2025, down from a minimum of 7 per cent and a free cashflow of between €1 billion and €1.5 billion for the year, down from at least €2 billion. The poor sales in June were in part due to the continuing decline in the retail market. The company also saw its light commercial vehicle business underperform, which Renault said was operating in a 'sharply declining market' in Europe. Free cashflow for the first half of the year stood at just €47 million, impacted by a negative working capital requirement of €900 million, thanks to a combination of delayed billings and the wider decline in the European market. Sales rose by 2.5 per cent to €27.6 billion in the first half of the year, while the company's operating margin stood at 6 per cent of group revenue. • France's love affair with the Renault — from horseless cart to va va voom In response to the poor results, Renault said it would be strengthening its short-term cost-reduction plan, which would be focused on reducing administrative and sales costs and finding savings in manufacturing and research and development. Shares in the company fell by 7¼ cents, or 17.47 per cent, to €34.01 on Wednesday. Analysts at Berenberg said that the new guidance would imply a cut to operating profits of between 8 per cent and 10 per cent for 2025, adding that sales volume in key retail markets, notably France, appeared to be surprisingly weak in June. However, they noted that Renault remained insulated from most of the near-term industry concerns, such as tariffs, capacity-related pressure and China. At the same time it should benefit from improving trends in the commercial vehicle market, the analysts said, and a positive contribution from its new hybrid engine joint venture with Geely, the Chinese automotive manufacturer. Deutsche Bank also noted that despite reducing its margin guidance, it was still competitive in contrast to its peers. Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), the Chinese car manufacturer, has partnered with Jameel Motors, an automotive distributor, to sell its electric vehicles in the UK. The company's entrance into the UK market is the fourth such venture from a Chinese automaker this month. GAC plans to initially sell its Aion UT hatchback and Aion V SUV electric vehicles in the UK, with deliveries expected in the first quarter of 2026. It has already announced plans to sell vehicles in Portugal and Poland, and launched in Brazil in May. BYD, Geely and a number of other Chinese EV manufacturers already have a presence in the UK. Others, such as Changan Automobile, have also announced plans to expand into Britain.
