Chargemaster has declined to comment on speculation that it is preparing to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) later this year.
Sky News has reported that the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure firm – the largest in the UK – is preparing floatation in June, with the intention of raising £50 million by selling new shares to investors.
This will reportedly be on top of a pre-fundraising valuation of £120 million, meaning the company could be worth £170m at the point of its flotation.
When contacted by Clean Energy News, Chargemaster refused to comment on “the speculation of the story” but would not rule it out.
As the largest provider of EV charging infrastructure in the UK, with over 6,000 charge points on its POLAR network, over 30,000 Homecharge units installed, and partnerships with car manufacturers like BMW, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and more, Chargemaster is poised to take advantage of the growing interest in electric vehicles.
The number of EVs on UK roads has sky-rocketed year-on-year and is now thought to stand at almost 125,000 vehicles. Chargemaster expects the number to reach half a million by the end of the decade before doubling by 2022 when the EV sector will become a mass consumer market.
This increase is expected to result from the growing importance of decarbonisation and changes to government policy impact the automotive sector.
Despite evidence of public confusion over the 2040 deadline, the government recently agreed to ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK. It has also set out plans to ensure the UK’s charging network is in place and ready to accommodate surging numbers of EVs, including a ruling that all charge points sold will have to be ‘smart’ and able to interact with the national grid.
Ahead of these measures being introduced, a number of companies active in the sector are ramping up their activity, with clean energy suppliers like Good Energy and OVO adding bundling up electric vehicle charging into their tariffs, or Shell beginning its own roll out of chargers at petrol station forecourts.
Chargemaster is reported to be planning to use any additional funds to further expand its network of public chargers as well as ramp up its activity internationally using its partnerships with major EV manufacturers.