Utility Warehouse owner Telecom Plus says its new five-year growth plan is ahead of schedule on customer additions, offering some reassurance after a bruising summer for the shares.

Telecom Plus (LSE: TEP), the FTSE 250 multi-utility supplier that trades as Utility Warehouse, has used its first-half trading update to show that its strategy of investing heavily in customer growth is beginning to deliver. The statement, released on 6 October, covered the six months to 30 September 2026 and was the first progress report under the company's new five-year plan. The shares rose about 4% on the day as investors welcomed numbers that ran ahead of management's own targets.

The update matters because sentiment towards the company was badly damaged earlier this year. On 23 June the shares fell about 25% after the group set out a lower profit outlook for the 2027 financial year and cut its dividend, as it chose to reinvest in growth. Two days later Berenberg more than halved its price target. The October statement is therefore being read as an early test of whether that reset will pay off.

Multiservice customers grow at a double-digit pace

The headline figure was multiservice organic customers, those taking more than one service from the group, which reached about 526,000, up from roughly 498,000 at the end of the previous financial year. That equates to an annualised growth rate of more than 11%, ahead of the company's target of over 10%. Single-service organic customers rose to around 791,000, an annualised rate of about 8.5%, taking total organic customers to approximately 1.32 million.

Insurance customers edged up to about 114,000, the first growth in that segment since the first half of the 2025 financial year. The company also cross-sold around 25,000 core services in the period, keeping it on course for its full-year goal of 50,000.

Telecom Plus relies on a network of self-employed Partners to win customers, and this engine also showed improvement. Monthly active Partners averaged about 4,900 in the half, roughly 15% higher than in the second half of the prior year, while total Partner numbers climbed above 88,000 from about 77,000.

Guidance held, with profits weighted to the second half

Management reiterated guidance for adjusted pre-tax profit of £80 million to £90 million in the 2027 financial year. It expects about 15% of that to be earned in the first half and roughly 85% in the second, reflecting the seasonality of energy demand and the timing of growth investment. Year-end net debt is expected at around 1.5 times adjusted EBITDA, falling towards about 1.0 times over the five-year plan, which targets adjusted pre-tax profit of £175 million by the 2031 financial year.

Chief executive Stuart Burnett described multiservice customer growth as strong and said the company was confident of meeting full-year guidance. He also welcomed BT Group's acquisition of Platform X Communications, the provider through which Telecom Plus connects its broadband customers.

Buyback continues as results date approaches

Capital returns remain part of the investment case. As of 2 October, the group's £40 million share buyback had repurchased about 3.8 million shares at an average price of around 821p, leaving about £9 million still to deploy. Distributions for the year are expected to be weighted to the second half, split roughly 40% interim and 60% final, with the company planning, at current share prices, to return half through a buyback extension and half through dividends.

Full half-year results are scheduled for 24 November, when investors will look for detail on margins, customer acquisition costs and the cost of the growth push. The trading update suggests the volume side of the plan is on track, although the heavy second-half weighting of profits leaves limited room for error.