OCTOPUS ENERGY has announced plans to spin off its software arm Kraken Technologies.
It said the demerger would help to speed up the expansion of Kraken globally.
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The firm’s AI-powered platform is already connected to more than 70million household and business accounts.
Kraken could even go public with a stock market listing in London or New York in the next 12 months, according to reports.
The business could be valued up to £11billion.
Kraken was built for use by Octopus but has since picked up a raft of other utilities including EDF, E.ON, Next, TalkTalk and National Grid U.S..
Bosses said Kraken has £369million of committed annual revenues through these licensing deals.
Chief Amir Orad said: “Kraken is now a globally successful business in its own right — completing our journey to full independence is a strategic and inevitable next step.
“It gives us more freedom to invest, expand and serve our clients equally.
“We’ll keep pushing innovation in the cloud, advancing our AI and harnessing vast amounts of energy and grid data.”
Founder of Octopus Greg Jackson said: “We set out to create Kraken as a global platform to transform utilities and to deliver the innovation, service and value that customers deserve.”
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PET BOSS EXIT
PETS AT HOME boss Lyssa McGowan has quit “with immediate effect” after the retailer downgraded its annual profit forecast for the second time this year.
The London-listed firm said it was lowering its underlying pre-tax profit forecast for 2025-26 to a range of £90million to £100million.
This would mark a drop from the £133million reported the previous year.
LISA FEE FURY
LIFETIME ISA savers faced £102million in withdrawal charges during 2024/25, according to HMRC — up from £75.3million the previous year.
LISA investors can withdraw free to buy a first home worth up to £450,000, if they are 60 or over, or have fewer than 12 months to live.
Others pay a 25 per cent charge.
Helen Morrissey of Hargreaves Lansdown says the penalties are “clobbering” savers.
GROWTH FEARS AT NEXT
NEXT boss Lord Simon Wolfson has sounded the alarm over “anaemic growth” for the UK economy, blaming rising unemployment and the recent National Insurance hike for dragging down shopper confidence.
The fashion and homewares giant posted a 13.8 per cent jump in half-year profits to £515million in the six months to July, but warned UK sales growth would slow sharply in the months ahead.
The group is planning to increase prices by 1 per cent over the second half to offset some rising costs.
