Lights Out: Bulb boss finally exits lucrative role months after supplier entered administration
Hayden Wood finally announced plans to step down from his lucrative role as chief executive of collapsed supplier Bulb Energy at the end of July, as the Government races to secure a sale of the group which has been propped up public funds for the past seven months.
The energy boss has overseen Bulb’s operations for the past eight years, but was at the helm when the firm fell into special administration amid a deepening market crisis last winter.
It was caught out by insufficient hedging, soaring wholesale costs and the constraints of the price cap which prevented the firm passing costs on to consumers.
In a post on LinkedIn, he said: “What happened last winter is now what we wanted and I’m sorry for the way things turned out.”
He also revealed he would share news about his own future “in due course.”
A Bulb spokesperson told City PM: “Bulb’s CEO and co-founder, Hayden Wood is stepping back from the business. We wish him all the best for the future.”
The Financial Times has reported he will not receive a severance package.
Bulb remains the UK’s seventh biggest energy firm, with 1.5m customers, and City PM understands from industry sources it is the subject of a bidding war between Masdar and Octopus Energy.
A takeover decision expected next month, with US investment group Lazard overseeing the process.
Since last November, Bulb has been placed on life support, being propped up by regular transfusions over taxpayer funds estimated at £2-3bn.
This would make Bulb the biggest state bailout since Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008.
During that time, Wood has been paid his full £250,000 per year salary, also funded by public money.
Bulb remains in a perilous financial state, with the details of its losses and financial difficulties exposed in report from administrator Teneo last week.
Teneo revealed that Bulb has racked up an £886m loss in the six months since nationalisation – and had a cash balance of £96m.
This would mean it has reported a loss of nearly £600 for every household it provides energy, with firm having spent over £1.5bn on power and gas, while it has taken just under £1.2bn in customer receipts between November and May.
Its parent company Simple Energy is being overseen by Interpath Advisory, which owes millions to creditors.