Acquisition

Acquisition

Centrica PLC

7 October 2010

BRITISH GAS ACQUIRES EQUITY STAKE IN ALERTME

Centrica plc, the parent company of British Gas, today announced that its British Gas division has acquired a 15.96% stake in AlertMe, a UK based company that provides home energy management services, for £5.7 million in cash. Following this transaction, British Gas will also hold a seat on AlertMe’s Board.

As part of this investment British Gas has signed a commercial agreement, potentially worth over £20 million (dependent upon technology delivery), to deploy AlertMe products and services to its customers in the UK, helping them to save energy and providing smarter ways to take control of their energy use.

The transaction will also enable British Gas to further expand its position in smart technology and enhance its service offering. British Gas customers will gain access to new products such as AlertMe’s Home Area Network (HAN) platform, which allows users to manage and control a wide range of home activities and appliances over the internet or smart phone.

British Gas’ latest investment is another important step towards facilitating the “home of the future”, in which smart technology will help customers take control of their energy usage. British Gas is also leading the roll-out of smart meters and has the largest smart meter deployment in the country, with over 160,000 smart meters installed to date.

Phil Bentley, Managing Director at British Gas, said “We want to make energy saving as easy as possible for our customers. This is why we continue to offer new, smarter ways to help customers take control of their energy usage. AlertMe’s innovative product portfolio is a great addition to British Gas’ current service offering, and will provide our customers with a new range of affordable, easy to use tools to reduce their energy consumption and cut their fuel bills.”

Mary Turner, AlertMe CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome British Gas, the UK’s largest energy provider, as a strategic investor and key commercial partner. This is a massive opportunity to contribute towards transforming the energy sector by providing easy to use, personalised services to customers, enabling them to manage their energy use, save money and reduce carbon emissions.”

ENDS

Contacts

Centrica Investor Relations:	Â	01753 494 900
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British Gas press office:		0800 1077015

Notes to editors

1. AlertMe has raised a total of £15 million through the issue of convertible preference shares, with the remaining £9.3 million having been secured from existing investors Good Energies, Index Ventures, SET Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners. The fundraising will allow AlertMe to expand its partner and channel program in the UK, Europe and the USA, and to further extend its platform, services, analytics and ecommerce proposition.

2. Centrica plc has acquired a 15.96% fully diluted stake in AlertMe through its wholly owned subsidiary, “GB Gas Holdings Limited”

3. Founded in 2006, AlertMe provides simple and affordable home energy management and connected home services both directly to consumers and indirectly through channel partners such as Utilities, Telecommunications companies and OEMs. Based on a single Home Area Network (HAN) platform, AlertMe allows consumers to monitor, control and automate a wide range of services in the home, such as energy use, heating, Solar PV, security and telecare, online and via their smart phone anywhere, anytime.

For more information on AlertMe go to: www.alertme.com