Energis
Encyclopedia
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
.
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.
, 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:
s during its existence.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The Company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
but subsequently went into administration and then became a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
.
History
The Company was formed in 1992 as Telecom ElectricTelecom Electric Limited
Telecom Electric Limited began life as a small project within the National Grid plc to determine the feasibility of running suspended optical fibre cables across the pylons of the high voltage power distribution network owned by the company...
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
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
in 1997.
Energis acquired a number of companies in the UK and Europe, including Planet Online
Planet Online
Planet Online was a UK business-to-business Internet Service Provider. Based in Leeds, it was started by local businessman and multi-millionaire Peter Wilkinson and Paul Sykes in July 1995....
, ISION AG and others. At one point its Market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
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
Freeserve
Freeserve was a British Internet Service Provider, founded in 1998. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged into the Wanadoo group in 2000, itself a subsidiary of France Telecom...
ISP. Energis provided the telephony services and Planet Online provided the e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
etc.
Energis Plc was placed in administration
Administration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
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
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
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 NetworkCisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
, using MPLS
Multiprotocol Label Switching
Multiprotocol Label Switching is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks that directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, avoiding complex lookups in a routing table. The labels identify virtual links between...
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 Fujitsu ServicesFujitsuis a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
with a broad outsource for the Post Office Ltd branch and central network services. - Provided the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
with its distribution network for TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and RadioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programmes. - Provided service to support The AAThe Automobile AssociationThe Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
and RACRAC plcRAC Limited is a breakdown company in the United Kingdom supplying products and services for motorists. Initially formed as the "Associate Section" of the Royal Automobile Club, it was incorporated as R.A.C. Motoring Services Ltd. in 1978. It was then sold by the members of the Royal Automobile...
helpline numbers. - Provided The Mirror Group with an ATMAsynchronous Transfer ModeAsynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
-based network for its editorial-to-printing process. - Provided network services to support the WanadooWanadooWanadoo is the former name of the ISP division of Orange SA, which is a subsidiary of France Télécom. It operated in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Mauritius, Madagascar, Lebanon, and Jordan...
UK Internet Service ProviderInternet service providerAn Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
offering.
Senior management
Energis was led by a number of Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
s 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 PlutheroJohn PlutheroJohn Pluthero was the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director , UK of Cable and Wireless, having joined following the sale of Energis having been its CEO...