A PLANNED merger between Swindon-based Npower and SSE will not go ahead, it was announced yesterday.

The two of the six big energy suppliers, Npower being based on the Windmill Hill Business Park, were given the green light to merge in August, after a decision by the Competition and Markets Authority.

But the companies have said they failed to reach an agreement on the deal to continue.

Martin Hermann, retail chief operating officer of Innogy SE, which Npower is a part of, said: "Adverse developments in the UK retail market and regulatory interventions such as the price cap have had a significant impact on the outlook for the planned retail company.

"We negotiated intensively with SSE on adjustments to the transaction as announced in November 2017.

"Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement that was acceptable for both sides. We are now assessing the different options for our British retail business."

SSE said the transaction was “complex with many moving parts” and the newly created firm would have faced “very challenging conditions” just as it was hit by integration costs.

The merger had been discussed since at least 2017.