Telecom Plus Explained

Telecom Plus plc
Type:	Public
Location:	London
Key People:	Charles Wigoder (Executive Chairman) Andrew Lindsay (Co-CEO) Stuart Burnett (Co-CEO)
Industry:	Public utility
Products:	Landline telephony, mobile telephony, broadband, gas, electricity.
Revenue:	£2,475.2 million (2023)^[1]
Operating Income:	£85.9 million (2023)
Net Income:	£68.2 million (2023)
Num Employees:	2,352 (2023)

Telecom Plus plc is a British multi-utility supplier of gas, electricity, home insurance, and landline, broadband and mobile services to residences and businesses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The company was founded in 1996 as a telecommunications business. Its first product, launched in 1997, was a least cost call routing 'Smart Box', a gadget that plugs into a phone socket and routes the calls to alternative networks at a cheaper rate than British Telecom.^[2]

In 2017 the company sold its 20% stake in Opus Energy to Drax Group.^[3]

In October 2023, the company had over 949,000 customers.^[4]

Key people

Andrew Lindsay, a world-class rower who was a member of the gold medallist British team at the 2000 Olympics,^[5] joined Telecom Plus in 2007. He was the chief operating officer in 2009^[6] and was promoted to chief executive officer in July 2010.^[7] Lindsay held the CEO role jointly with Stuart Burnett from 2021, and in 2023 the company announced that Lindsay would step down at the 2024 AGM.^[8]

Operations

The company has two subsidiaries:

• Utility Warehouse (branded as UW) operates a landline telephony service, mobile telephony (as an MVNO on the EE network), supplies broadband, gas and electricity^[9] and offers home insurance.^[10] UW also offers a pre-paid debit card which pays a "cashback" percentage on purchases (given as a credit against the monthly bill for other UW services) in return for a monthly fee.^[11] The cards are operated by Mastercard and issued by PSI-Pay Ltd, a privately-held company.^[12]
• Telecommunications Management Limited provides a landline telephony service to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers,^[13] as well as operating the 1pMobile consumer MVNO.^[14]

The company uses a multi-level marketing model to recruit customers and distributors.^[15]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Annual Results 2023. Telecom Plus. 27 June 2023.
2. News: Sunday Times - Rich List. https://web.archive.org/web/20110522160308/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/richlist/person/0,,34241,00.html. 22 May 2011. timesonline.co.uk. 3 April 2015.
3. Web site: Telecom Plus sells stake in energy business to Drax Group for £71m - Agile Energy Recovery Ltd . Agileenergy.net . 2017-02-10 . 2018-03-01.
4. News: 11 October 2023 . Trading update and notice of results. Telecom Plus. en.
5. News: 2 July 2012 . Golden Scots: Andrew Lindsay, businessman in a boat . en-GB . BBC Sport: Scotland . 2023-11-24.
6. Web site: 31 March 2009 . Telecom Plus Plc: Report and Accounts . 24 November 2023 . Companies House . 1.
7. Web site: 31 March 2011 . Telecom Plus Plc: Report And Accounts . 24 November 2023 . Companies House . 2, 34.
8. Web site: Jackson . Mark . 2023-11-21 . Utility Warehouse Top 363,595 UK Broadband Users and Change CEO . 2023-11-24 . ISPreview UK . en.
9. News: Macalister . Terry . Jennifer Rankin . 20 November 2013 . RWE npower supply sale raises fears over UK withdrawal . . 6 October 2014.
10. Web site: Insurance from UW . 2023-04-10 . uw.co.uk.
11. Web site: UW Cashback Card . 2023-04-10 . uw.co.uk.
12. Web site: PSI-Pay Ltd . 10 April 2023 . Companies House.
13. Web site: TML - About us. 14 April 2016.
14. Web site: 1p mobile. 1 March 2018.
15. News: Jones. Rupert. Utility Warehouse under the spotlight. 30 June 2016. The Guardian. 4 December 2009.