Energis Communications Limited, briefly Telecom Electric, or more usually just Energis was a 'technology driven communications company' based in the UK and Ireland. The Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but subsequently went into administration and then became a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless.

History

The Company was formed in 1992 as Telecom Electric by way of a demerger from the UK's National Grid Company. Its national optical fibre network was partially deployed via the overhead power transmission network of the grid. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ in 1997.

Energis acquired a number of companies in the UK and Europe, including Planet Online, ISION AG and others. At one point its Market capitalization was over £10 billion making it one of the largest companies by market capital. However in the process the Company over-extended itself with borrowings to fund these acquisitions.

Planet Online, by then a subsidiary of Energis, worked with its new parent to help Dixons launch the Freeserve ISP. Energis provided the telephony services and Planet Online provided the e-mail, internet access etc.

Energis Plc was placed in administration in July 2002, with its UK operations immediately being transferred to Energis Communications Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of a new holding company owned by the banks and known as Chelys.

In August 2005, Cable & Wireless made an offer to acquire the Company for £594 million. The bid was accepted by a binding majority of Energis debt holders and the company became part of Cable & Wireless on 11 November 2005.

Operations

In its final form, Energis provided a number of services based around its core platforms of ISP, Transmission, IP Networking (Energis had a Cisco Powered Network, using MPLS technology), Contact Centre Solutions and Voice (traditional switched telephony). All of these services are now provided under the Cable & Wireless brand.

Energis had a strong reputation for providing bespoke telecoms services and developing innovation for a blue chip client base. At the business' height in the early 2000s they had developed significant in-roads into key market niches.

Energis provided services to a number of businesses, a few of the more interesting were:

• Provided Fujtisu Services with a broad outsource for the Post Office Ltd branch and central network services.
• Provided the BBC with its distribution network for Television and Radio programmes.
• Provided service to support The AA and RAC helpline numbers.
• Provided The Mirror Group with an ATM-based network for its editorial-to-printing process.
• Provided network services to support the Wanadoo UK Internet Service Provider offering.

Senior management

Energis was led by a number of Chief Executive Officers during its existence.

• Mar 1993 - Dec 1995 David Dey
• Dec 1995 - Aug 2001 Mike Grabiner
• Aug 2001 - Jul 2002 David Wickham
• Jul 2002 - November 2005 John Pluthero

References

1. Back Channel
2. Sykes sells Planet On-line
3. Energis to buy ISION
4. Planet Online Selects Cisco to Help Dixons Launch Innovative Free Internet Service in UK
5. Norman ready to energise Energis
6. C&W set to win Energis race
7. C&W/Energis merger to be finalised shortly