Spending watchdog reportedly to investigate Octopus’s Bulb deal

According to The Guardian, the comptroller and auditor general of the independent parliamentary body – which undertakes investigations into areas of government spending – Gareth Davies has commissioned the work to scrutinise the deal.  

It’s understood the watchdog is in the early stages of its work and an update detailing the scope of the investigation will be published once approved by Davies.  

This news comes ahead of a court hearing, which is set to take place tomorrow (11 November) to confirm the Octopus’s acquisition.  

Since the sale, neither Octopus nor the government has confirmed the price paid for Bulb - although an unconfirmed price of £100m to £200m has been reported.  

Last week Octopus chief executive Greg Jackson described it as a “fair deal” for taxpayers who needed to see the “upside” of emergency government bailout deals, adding that it had paid “above market value” to acquire Bulb’s 1.5 million customers.  

Bulb became the first energy supplier to be placed into special administration by the government in November last year – a process designed to protect the customers of a large business that has become insolvent.  

The state bailout of the business had been forecast to cost the taxpayer around £2bn by next year and was the biggest state bailout since the Royal Bank of Scotland collapse back in 2008.   

If the deal is approved, Octopus will be the third-largest UK energy supplier behind British Gas and E.ON with 4.9 million customers. The firm has also said there will be no redundancies at Bulb.  

When reached out to by The Guardian, both the NAO and Octopus declined to comment. A government spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on the specific financials of the commercial deal, due to high market volatility, the government is making sure that we get the best possible outcome for Bulb’s customers and the British taxpayer.”