Ministers are braced for a fresh wave of energy collapses as another supplier battles for survival.
Outfox the Market, which has about 100,000 customers, faces an uncertain future after the industry regulator Ofgem told it to get its house in order or have its licence revoked.
Outfox the Market is the trading name of Leicester-based Foxglove Energy Supply, which was launched by husband and wife Keith and Maria Bastian in 2015.
Earlier this month, Ofgem issued Foxglove with a warning that it had three months to sort out its finances, including bolstering its cash position and increasing its energy hedging, or else it would be stripped of its licence.
Industry sources have expressed surprise that Foxglove survived the last wave of casualties that swept through the market in 2021. Government officials are said to be closely monitoring the company.
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More than 30 suppliers have gone to the wall amid sky-high wholesale gas prices, which led to companies having to sell their energy to customers at a loss.
British Gas owner Centrica has said that another wave of failures is possible because a number of suppliers are still “substantially undercapitalised”.
Keith and Maria Bastian stepped down last year as directors of Foxglove, which sources its electricity from Denmark’s Orsted. Turnover in 2021 topped £100 million, but the start of the energy crisis pushed the company to a £4 million loss.
The couple’s other business, Fischer Future Heat UK Ltd, faced criminal proceedings after it was accused of making false claims to customers about its heaters. However, Trading Standards struck a deal with the Bastians, who denied any wrongdoing, with undertakings including that they cannot refer to sales people as engineers.
Foxglove declined to comment.