Myenergi, a British startup that produces home chargers for electric vehicles and energy-saving devices, has swung from a £8.8 million profit to a pre-tax loss of £25 million in the year to May.
The company, whose high-profile backers include former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, blamed the downturn on weaker demand, intensifying competition, and a write-down of £10 million on unsold stock.
Founded in 2016 by Lee Sutton and Jordan Brompton, Myenergi sells the popular Zappi home charger and technology that helps homeowners optimise power usage, particularly when generating their own electricity. However, in its latest results the company reported an 18 per cent drop in sales to £55.7 million, largely due to what it called “a challenging trading year” and rival chargers being bundled with car sales and finance deals.
In a bid to shore up its balance sheet, Myenergi raised £28.6 million in new investment from New York-based Energy Impact Partners in October at an undisclosed valuation, spending £5.6 million on related fees. As part of broader cost-cutting measures, it also reduced its Grimsby-based workforce from 445 to 339.
Chairman Peter Richardson, previously an executive at Dyson, hopes this will give Myenergi the firepower to compete. The company insists it remains in a strong financial position, with “good prospects for growth,” supported by more than a quarter of its revenue coming from overseas—primarily Europe.
Myenergi has reset its ambitions around a possible sale or stock market listing. Share options issued in 2022 were to vest if the business reached a valuation of at least £400 million, but these have since been cancelled. New options introduced this year will be triggered whenever existing shareholders exit the company.
The company’s struggles come as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a 45.5 per cent year-on-year drop in UK output of electric or hybrid vehicles in November. Market analysts, including Euromonitor International, say the growth rate of pure EV sales is slowing, with buyers increasingly attracted to hybrids that combine both engine and battery power.