Who owns the UK’s major energy and water suppliers, and how much profit do they make?

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak says oil and gas companies are treating the British public ‘like cash machines’ amid the cost of living crisis

BP’s profits of $5 billion (£4bn) were stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2023 / PA Wire

By
Lowenna Waters
Nuray Bulbul
4 hours ago

il and gas giant BP has reported bumper profits for the beginning of the year, renewing calls for a stronger windfall tax as Brits struggle to pay their energy bills.

BP’s profits of $5 billion (£4bn) were stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2023.

These are a reduction on the $6.2bn from the same period last year, but otherwise are the best results BP has reported in at least a decade.

They have sparked renewed calls for the Government to ensure oil companies are hit with what Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called a “proper” windfall tax.

“It shows that these really huge profits are continuing. This isn’t the first but £4 billion… that’s a huge amount of money,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“And it’s always worth bearing in mind that, of course, we want BP and others to make profits so they can invest.

“But these are profits they didn’t expect to make. These are profits over and above because the world price of energy is so high.”

Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak said oil and gas companies were treating the British public “like cash machines”. Most trade unions in the UK belong to the TUC.

He said: “These eye-watering profits are an insult to working families as millions struggle with sky-high bills. The Government has left billions on the table by refusing to impose a proper windfall tax on the likes of BP. And even now ministers are refusing to take action to fix our broken energy market and stop this obscene price gouging.”

So, who owns the UK’s biggest energy firms, and how much profit are they making?

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who owns British Gas and how much profit does it make?

British Gas is owned by the company Centrica, which is the largest domestic gas supplier in the UK, and is also one of the largest electricity suppliers.

It was previously publically owned but in December 1986 the prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, privatised it.

Centrica owns British Gas and other energy companies, including Ireland’s Bord Gais Energy. In February, it reported a record operating profit of £3.3bn last year.

Who owns BP and how much profit does it make?

British Petroleum, better known as BP, is a British company founded in 1909.

Its top five shareholders are State Street, BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fisher Investments, and Menora Mivtachim.

With operations in nearly 80 countries, BP announced it made a profit of $5bn (£4bn) in the first three months of 2023.

Shell reported a record $40 billion (£32.5 billion) profit in 2022 / PA Wire

Who owns Shell and how much profit does it make?

Shell is a British-Dutch-owned company, headquartered in the Netherlands, and is incorporated in the UK. The company, which first sold antiques and seashells, was expanded by the Samuels brothers in the 1880s into an oil-exporting business.

The brothers achieved a revolution in the transport of oil by using a tanker called the Murex across the Suez Canal to transfer oil.

Shell supplied the British Army with the majority of its fuel during the First World War and made all of its ships — including the Murex — available to the British Admiralty.

Wael Sawan became the company’s CEO in January. He replaced Ben van Beurden, who had been in the role since January 1, 2014.

In Sawan’s previous role as the head of Shell’s integrated gas and renewables division, he oversaw Shell’s growth into low-carbon energies, as well as its giant gas business.

Shell reported a record $40bn (£32.5bn) profit in 2022. This capped a turbulent year in which a rise in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine allowed it to provide shareholders with unheard-of profits.

Who owns Scottish Power and how much profit does it make?

Scottish Power is owned by the Spanish utility firm Iberdrola. The company was formed in 1990, in preparation for the privatisation of Scotland’s energy supply the year after, according to Berkshire Live.

In October 2021, Scottish Power reported a 39 per cent decline in underlying profits, at its division responsible for providing energy to domestic customers. It cited rising wholesale costs, as well as low wind volumes, as the key reasons for this.

Who owns Southern Water and how much profit does it make?

Southern Water supplies water and sewerage services to customers across the south of England. It loses 88.1 million litres of water per day from the pipes in its network.

Its shareholders took home £622 million in profit between 2013 and 2017. In 2021, Southern Water was sentenced to pay £90m in fines for widespread pollution after pleading guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges, according to Gov.uk.

Who owns EDF and how much profit does it make?

EDF Energy is owned by the French energy supplier Électricité de France (EDF), which is itself owned by the French government.

It made a profit of £1.12bn in 2022 in the UK, following a loss of £21m in the previous year.

Luc Remont, chairman and chief executive officer of EDF, said: “The 2022 results were significantly affected by the decline in our electricity output, and also by exceptional regulatory measures introduced in France in difficult market conditions.

“Despite all the challenges, EDF actively focused on service and support for all its residential and business customers, and made every endeavour to ensure the best generation fleet availability for the winter period.”

According to its own figures, it posted a loss of £154m in 2020.

Who owns E.ON and how much profit does it make?

E.ON is owned by E.ON SE, an electricity supplier based in Essen, Germany. The company was formed in 1989 and was originally known as Powergen, before it was privatised in the 1990s.

The company also owns Npower, which it acquired in December 2018, and was previously owned by German multinational energy firm RWE.

In November 2021, its parent company reported a nine-month adjustment to earnings before interest and tax, of €3.93bn (£3.29bn), while its customer solutions arm more than doubled its profits to €910m (£810.4m).

Who owns SSE and how much profit does it make?

SSE’s retail business, which provides energy to household customers, was sold to OVO Energy in January 2020.

OVO Energy reported that it had significantly reduced its losses in 2020 to £7 million — down from £103m the previous year. The company also reported a significant increase in revenues, from £1.5bn to £4.5bn.

Who owns Octopus Energy and how much profit does it make?

Octopus Energy is owned by Octopus Group, the fund-management company which founded the energy firm in 2015. Octopus Group has interests in venture capital, investment management, and real estate, as well as the energy sector.

In January, Octopus Energy announced an operating loss of nearly £85m in 2021, after reporting a loss of almost £50m in 2020, according to Reuters. However, the firm’s energy-supply revenues increased to £1.9bn from £1.2bn the previous year.