EDF Energy rebrands business arm

Electricity and gas supplier EDF Energy has taken a first step towards uniting its three businesses, London Energy, Seeboard Energy and SWEB Energy, by rebranding its major business arm.

The company’s large business customers, including Tesco, Royal Mail, Thames Water, Southern Water and the Metropolitan Police, were previously supplied by one of the three companies, but all will now deal with the newly created single brand EDF Energy.

Although the French-based company’s major business arm has been operating as a single business unit since 2003, when Seeboard and London Electricity merged, the different regional brands have remained in place until now.

But the change, announced this week, involves larger customers dealing with EDF Energy, although the company says that the three separate brands will continue to operate in the residential and small and medium-sized business markets.

EDF Energy says it has changed the regional names because they do not fit with its supplying national and international companies. Bruno Foyt, managing director of EDF Energy’s major business division, says: “This will make it easier to show that we are part of a large, vertically integrated energy company with a European presence.”

However, the company has been increasing its profile through sponsorship of London’s Olympic bid and the Oxford/Cambridge boat race using the group name rather than the brand names that are familiar to consumers. This has prompted speculation that an overall rebrand is on the cards.