Flick Electric raises another $5 million to power growth

Wednesday, 13 July 2016

Flick Electric chief executive Steve O'Connor. The company has just raised another $5 million from shareholders.

Flick Electric, the energy retailer which sells power to customers at wholesale prices, has tapped shareholders for another $5 million.

The Wellington-headquartered company, which claims to be the fastest growing electricity retailer in New Zealand, said an offer for shares was fully subscribed by its existing shareholders.

Companies Office records show a large chunk of the shares went to Eastland Group, the Gisborne-based energy and infrastructure group, which first invested in Flick in December.

Buying close to half of the new shares, Eastland's shareholding increased its stake in Flick from around 11 per cent to more than 16 per cent.

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Flick sells customers electricity at wholesale prices, plus an operating margin. This means customers are exposed to the risks of the spot market, however they can save money by running their appliances when the price of power is low.

Chief executive Steve O'Connor said the added capital would enable Flick to continue its growth and to continue its investment in technology.

'Fast growing businesses need to be well supported to capitalise on momentum. This raise gives us a solid runway so we can focus all of our energy on meeting our goals and delivering strong value to shareholders,' O'Connor said.

'We have been very focused on proving there is a mass market appetite for our proposition, and building capability and capacity in the business to support our growth aspirations. Our shareholders are clearly heartened by the progress we've made and our strategic positioning.'

It is the second time in just over six months that Flick has raised cash from investors, with the latest investment valuing the company at $25 million.

In December it also raised $5m, including the initial investment from Eastland Group, as well as taking on the first institutional investors in Aspiring Asset Management, the boutique fund manager and state-owned ACC, New Zealand largest fund manager, became Flick's first institutional investors.

In May, Eastland's chief executive Matt Todd was appointed as a director of Flick, along with Auckland Airport's former chief financial officer Simon Robertson.

Flick chairman Marcel van den Assum said the new directors had 'extensive experience managing large, complex businesses' which were essential to Flick.

Flick says it added more customers than any other electricity retailer in the first five months of 2016, with a net gain of 3877 customers, giving it a total of 12,095 customers.