Flick Flies Faster

Flick Flies Faster

Capital raising oversubscribed; attracts key NZ investors.

New electricity retailer Flick Electric Co. has completed its first growth capital round, having now secured $4.8m in total from investors to accelerate customer acquisition and product development. Investors include the company founders, investment firms and experienced individuals.

“We’re delighted to welcome such seriously smart investors to the Flick family,” says Chief Executive Steve O’Connor. “The companies and individuals involved have deep expertise and high expectations, so it’s a great vote of confidence in what the founders have achieved so far. The new capital will allow us to achieve our growth targets faster.”

Flick was founded in March 2013 by a team with deep experience in the electricity industry and start-up businesses. The retailer has been acquiring customers since August 2014 while growing its geographic footprint to cover most of the North Island.

O’Connor said that Flick had deliberately targeted external investors who could add more than simply extra cash. “For example Evander Management tested every part of our business plan in the due diligence process. While individuals like Phil McCaw and Jenny Morel bring invaluable enterprise growth experience. And we’re bowled over to have the largest group of Angel HQ members ever to invest in a single deal.”

Marcel van den Assum, Chair of the Board, said that the successful round provided a strong platform for the company’s future capital strategy. “The New Zealand investment community is hungry for opportunities that combine market disruption potential with actual operational capability. The Flick founders have done an exceptional job in creating a real business that is already providing a radically different experience for customers.”

Flick sells electricity to residential and SME customers on a wholesale plus retail-fee model where customers pay the actual spot price of the power they use. The advantage is lower costs plus complete transparency. “It puts the customer totally in charge for the first time,” says O’Connor. “If they use less power, or use it at off-peak times, they get all the value. We think it’s by far the fairest way to buy and sell electricity.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media