EDF plans IPO of UK-based EV charging company – Sky News

Electricité de France SA has reportedly instructed the investment bank Barclays to draw up plans for an IPO of its U.K.-based electric vehicle charging subsidiary Pod Point Ltd., Sky News reported Jan. 16, citing City of London sources.

The French electric utility bought a controlling stake in Pod Point in February 2020. Although the exact date of the IPO is not known, Pod Point is set to become the latest British tech company to float on the London Stock Exchange, Sky News said.

"We are of course very pleased that the market for electric vehicles has continued to grow so strongly over the course of a very challenging year," a Pod Point spokeswoman said in a statement to the news outlet. "Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on questions relating to investment as these enquiries are handled directly by our parent company EDF."

EDF declined to comment to Sky News.

Pod Point has a public network of nearly 4,000 charging bays, and an IPO will value the company at "many hundreds of millions of pounds," according to Sky News' sources. EDF plans to retain a controlling stake in the company after the flotation.

The U.K. government has established a target for banning new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and phasing out hybrids by 2035. According to recent parliamentary research, the country will require 29,000 charging points by 2030 to meet demand, in addition to a tenfold increase in public charging stations compared to 2016 levels.

Electric vehicle sales hit a new high in 2020, reaching a 10.7% overall market share in the U.K. along with plug-in hybrids, Sky News reported.