A Long Time In Finance

Bulb Failure

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Episode notes

It’s not often when a start-up fails that taxpayers end up getting a bill for £6.5bn - equivalent to a penny on income tax. But that’s what happened with Bulb, a venture that tried to bring the economics of Deliveroo and Uber to the staid business of selling power to domestic customers. Energy expert Nick Butler helps us unpick the Bulb shaped mess that ensued, how it happened and what should happen now.

Presented by Jonathan Ford and Neil Collins.

With Nick Butler.

Produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot.