ScottishPower appoints Faulds to 4m account

ScottishPower, one of the fastest growing electrical retailers in the UK, has chosen Faulds Advertising to handle its 4m retail business, which trades as Electricity Plus in England.

Faulds beat incumbent The Bridge, Levy McCallum, Barkers and Baillie Marshall to the account. The campaign will in-volve TV and press ads in Scotland and northern England, and is expected to break in the autumn.

The appointment comes as ScottishPower launches an aggressive push into the competitive retail sector in England. Last month, the company bought regional electricity company Manweb’s five superstores and range of stock for 3m. Last year, it bought 49 superstores and a distribution outlet from the receivers of Clydesdale – all of which have been integrated into Electricity Plus.

The Manweb purchase takes the number of ScottishPower stores to 162, including 51 superstores in England.

ScottishPower increased pre-tax profits by 6.9 per cent to 375m this year. Exports grew by 41m and are on target to reach one third of total electricity sales by the end of the decade.