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The sale of Pod Point to EDF Energy - February 2020
Electric vehicles are the future, and Panoramic’s investment in Pod Point shows the strong belief in this. Stephen Campbell discusses the sale of Pod Point to EDF Energy, completed in February 2020, in great detail
The sale of Pod Point to French utility company EDF Energy, completed in February 2020. We’d invested £2.25m in June 2018 alongside Draper Esprit and Legal & General Capital (LGC). Our belief was that air pollution would become a major public health issue, and we wanted to invest in companies that helped solve this problem, as we felt they would benefit in the years ahead.
Pod Point was attractive in that it provided the infrastructure for the electric vehicle (EV) market. It was growing when we invested, and in the 18 months since then growth has accelerated. Our feeling was that the market would eventually recognise that EVs were the future, and a tipping point would be reached. Late last summer, demand for EVs started to increase exponentially, and energy companies approached Pod Point. EDF was serious about buying and wanted to become the leading energy company for EVs in the UK, France, Italy and Belgium. Pod Point will be run as a joint venture with LGC, which is keen to have Pod Point chargers across its large property portfolio.