EO Charging set for sale as losses mount
British company once valued at £488m expected to sell business
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story in today’s edition... I understand that EO Charging, once valued at around half a billion and which counts Amazon as a client, is preparing to sell its remaining business following mounting losses.
Elsewhere... DfT publishes a helpful page about the changes to chargepoint data, lots of new deployments, but fears around rising plug costs linger.
As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.
EO Charging set for sale as losses mount
Headline: EO Charging, the British-founded EV charge point firm whose clients include Amazon, Tesco, and DHL, is preparing to sell its remaining business amid mounting losses and could enter administration, The Fast Charge understands.
Background: EO has been around for a long time. It was founded in 2014 by Charlie Jardine at his grandparents’ farm inside a former pig shed. As a first mover in the EV sector, the company quickly outgrew the pigsty and grew to dominate the charge point market for fleets and homeowners, especially after the announcement of a ZEV mandate in the UK.
Well backed... As a result of its early leading position, EO received millions in funding, including from Zouk Capital, which manages HM Treasury’s Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund. That fund consists of up to £200m of taxpayer cash mixed with private investor capital. In 2018, Zouk provided £13m to EO. And in 2023, after EO walked away from a £488m ($675m) deal to list on the Nasdaq, Zouk joined other backers with a £66m equity investment.
Since then, however, the company has struggled. In the face of political uncertainty around the globe and at home, and operating in an increasingly competitive market, the growth EO expected has not followed. According to its latest accounts, EO Charging (registered as JUUCE Limited) lost nearly £24m in 2024. The company’s liabilities exceeded its assets by more than £21m at year-end, underlining the severity of its financial position.
During 2025... EO underwent a total restructuring, which included exiting the US market and selling its domestic EV charger hardware and manufacturing business. The company said it had received £25m from existing backers in November last year, including Zouk and Vortex Energy (a Middle Eastern investor), alongside an increased debt facility with HSBC.
However... Despite EO saying the investment provided “a strong foundation for the company’s next phase of growth” and that investors are demonstrating “continued confidence,”... Only weeks later, in its accounts signed in December 2025, Deloitte, EO Charging’s auditor, provided a very different and bleaker appraisal of its position.
Deloitte stated that... “a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”, noting that its recent funding is contingent on the company meeting performance targets. Deloitte also issued a qualified opinion on the accounts, which indicates the auditor was unable to obtain sufficient evidence in certain areas. In short, the auditor was unable to satisfy itself on certain aspects, reducing confidence in the figures presented.
In recent months, the situation seems to have gotten worse... I understand that EO is preparing to sell its remaining business, with a sale process expected to take place during April. Given that the group has already sold most of its hard assets, the process will likely focus on its software platform and client relationships. If a transaction is not secured, the company could enter administration.
Response... EO Charging was contacted several times for a comment, and as of the time of publishing, I have not received a response. I even took it upon myself to visit their registered office in Paddington on Monday. They were not listed on the board behind the reception desk, though a secretary said they were based on the ground floor, but that nobody was in.
Zouk Capital and HM Treasury were also approached for comment.
Latest EV news...
👉 George Watson, a former local authority officer, has launched EVinfrastructure.co.uk as an independent information hub on everything EV charging in the UK. It explains which authorities are participating in schemes, such as the pavement channel fund or LEVI, and their status. I find it very helpful, and I know George is underway with making dedicated authority pages. Check it out here.
📊 Talking of EV charging, the Department for Transport published an FAQs last week covering the recent changes to how charge points are counted. It included the news that DfT is planning to release new stats covering public charging on the strategic road network and at motorway service areas, summary statistics for the number of EVs per public EV charger, and public EV charger utilisation statistics. See the page here.
📈 Speaking of rapid charging, a couple of stories this week suggest prices for charging networks have soared, in one case by up to 38,000%. As such, ChargeUK is calling for standing charges to be reviewed urgently, as otherwise the cost will be passed onto drivers. There already is a cost of charging review ongoing in the Treasury, though perhaps, if the Sunday Times is to be believed, the ZEV mandate review may happen early, maybe the cost review should conclude sooner too.
💷 And the price story continues. In Bristol yesterday, the local council approved an EV strategy that acknowledged the city requires 600 more chargers installed by 2027, compared to the 200 in place today. See here. One of the likely ways the authority will meet that will be by installing lamppost charging. However, one Bristol councillor – whose surname is amusingly ‘Kent’ – has expressed concern at their cost being ten times more than those charging at home. Read more.
🔌 Further North, Manchester has launched a pilot of 38 lamppost chargers with AMEY. If there’s good utilisation, the scheme will expand. Read more.
🏝️ We might as well go for three lamppost stories in a row... The Isle of Wight has appointed Char.gy as its chosen network to deliver up to 1,500 devices across the island for residents. Read more.
👍 Seems it’s the week for new initiatives. Transport for Wales has revealed a new tool, named ChargePoint Navigator, which is designed to reduce costs and support EV infrastructure planning across its 22 local authorities. Read more.
🏠 Reading has launched a pavement channel trial for residents with Kerbo Charge. Read more.
🛍️ Raw Charging has opened a new rapid hub at Chesterfield’s retail park. This is part of its large deal with Landsec. Read more.
⚡️ Talking of speed, Gridserve has launched a new hub near Folkestone. Read more.
🔋 With petrol on the cusp of running out, Octopus Electric Vehicles has reported a 36% rise in enquiries. Read more. Meanwhile, an analysis in The Guardian suggests that if more EVs had vehicle-to-grid capacity, more people could be using their car like a home battery, helping us from future oil shocks. Read more.
🕵️ Was James Bond a sleeper agent? Daniel Craig has popped up promoting a new electric supercar developed by the Chinese carmaker Denza. The concept coupe is called the ‘Z’ but its actual name will be revealed at Goodwood this summer. Read more.
🚀 Talking of cars and violence, a report this week suggested VW may be shifting one of its factories in Osnabrueck from making cars to making missile systems (“Jast lyke za olden days, ja!”). The FT highlighted how this demonstrates that European carmakers, in the face of more competition and targets, may be moving to totally new businesses altogether. Read more (paywall).