Star jumps to job cuts Ovo Energy's fall from grace amid bill rises

As Britons braced for freezing weather in the early months of the 2022 energy cost crisis, the country's fourth largest gas and electricity supplier urged struggling households to try "doing a few star jumps" to keep warm.

- Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent

This poorly judged suggestion, alongside others such as "having a cuddle with your pets", was branded insulting by consumer groups. For many, the gaffe marked the beginning of Ovo Energy's precipitous fall from grace.

With one questionable blogpost the company, founded by Stephen Fitzpatrick in 2009 as a green disrupter to the legacy "big six" incumbents, had come full circle; from an outspoken critic of poor customer service to appearing out of touch and insensitive to the struggle of its customers.

At the time, Ovo had completed the acquisition of SSE's energy supply business, catapulting it into the same tier as the domestic power giants Fitzpatrick had criticised for years - and making him one of Britain's richest men.

Now the supplier is warning in its latest account of doubts over its financial future, having failed to meet the regulator's resilience standards put in place after rocketing wholesale prices in the energy crisis caused scores of providers to collapse.

It is poised to cut 200 jobs in order to save millions in costs. The redundancies are part of plan submitted to the industry regulator, Ofgem, to prove that it complies with financial standards. An Ovo spokesperson said:

"We're making changes that bring us closer to customers and sharpen our focus as an energy retailer... to build a stronger, more resilient business that better serves our customers and meets regulatory requirements. Where roles are affected, we will consult fully and support colleagues throughout."

Meanwhile, a revolving door of executives has struggled to raise fresh funds from investors to help it meet the new requirements.

Last month David Buttress, a former Just Eat chief, stepped down as Ovo chief executive after just 18 months, as did the company's chief financial officer, James Davies, who was hired to the job a year ago.

In their place, Fitzpatrick is expected to install successors with loyalty to the supplier.