Believ builds and operates publicly accessible, privately funded EV charging networks across the UK for local authorities, businesses and landowners.

Who are Believ's investors?

Believ's investors include Zouk Capital, Liberty Growth.

Believ

Founded 2019 · 110 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors

Believ provides a fully funded, end-to-end EV charge point deployment service for UK local authorities, covering charge point strategy, site planning, installation, and maintenance without reliance on public LEVI funding. It offers the full range of charging speeds and works with partners such as Virgin Media O2 to install charge points across the UK.

Also known as Liberty Charge Limited

Cleantech Energy Mobility & Transportation

Investors · 4

Zouk Capital✓ verifiedLondon

Liberty GrowthLondon · $5M – $10M

Also in the syndicate · 2

ABN AmroLiberty Globallead

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Believ is a UK electric vehicle charge point operator that designs, funds, installs, operates and maintains publicly accessible charging networks. It works with four customer groups: local authorities, for whom it delivers privately funded kerbside and residential charging networks; businesses, offered charge point installation on commercial premises at no cost or capital risk; landowners, from whom it acquires freehold and leasehold sites to develop charging hubs; and drivers, who access the network via a map, web portal and mobile app. The network supplies 100% renewable energy and spans a range of charging speeds, including fast charging up to 22kW as well as rapid and ultra-rapid units.

The company is jointly owned by Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK), the converged video, broadband and communications group behind Virgin Media, Telenet, UPC and VodafoneZiggo, and Zouk Capital, a private equity and infrastructure fund manager with €600m under management that also manages the UK Treasury's Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF). Zouk's investment in Believ is supported by the CIIF, which aims to catalyse EV charging rollout by improving access to commercial finance. Believ is headquartered in London and is led by CEO Guy Bartlett, who previously held executive roles at ENGIE and SSE.

Driver-facing services include the Believ app for iOS (published under the developer name Liberty Charge Limited), which offers guest access, charge point filtering by type, speed and availability, tariff display and in-app payment, route planning, charging history and invoices. The company has also enabled roaming through an Electroverse partnership and is rolling out contactless payment across more chargers, alongside membership and pay-as-you-go account options and a night tariff.

Founding story

Believ was founded by a team of energy infrastructure and sustainability specialists, headquartered in London, motivated by the uneven distribution of charge points across UK cities and rural areas. CEO Guy Bartlett brings experience in utilities and energy infrastructure from prior executive roles at ENGIE and SSE.

Business model

Believ funds, installs, owns and operates EV charge points, offering local authorities a privately funded network delivered without cost to taxpayers and businesses a zero-cost, zero-risk installation model. It also acquires freehold and leasehold sites directly to develop charging hubs. Capital comes from its shareholders Liberty Global and Zouk Capital (via the UK Treasury's Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund) plus debt facilities from commercial lenders.

Revenue is generated from drivers charging on the network, with tariffs varying by charging speed (for example 'Fast' charging up to 22kW), payment via app, website, contactless or roaming partners such as Electroverse, plus pay-as-you-go and paid membership options and idle fees.

Traction

Believ reported reaching three years of growth with UK rollout milestones in April 2026. Announced local authority programmes include Hampshire County Council (described as the largest LEVI deal, backed by £90 million of private investment), Hertfordshire County Council (£38 million rollout), Suffolk County Council (a LEVI tender for 6,000 charge points), Telford & Wrekin Council (over 200 charge points), Tower Hamlets, Devon and Torbay, Redcar and Cleveland, Plymouth, Warrington, Leeds and Luton. Commercial partnerships include Mitchells & Butlers, 9Yards retail parks, Primesite Group, Firehouse Oxford and UrbanChain. The iOS app held a 2.2 out of 5 rating from 76 ratings.

Latest developments

Announcements through 2026 include the start of Believ's largest rapid and ultra-rapid rollout in Tower Hamlets (August 2026), an EV charging rollout with Devon and Torbay Councils (July 2026), a partnership with UrbanChain for traceable, locally matched renewable energy and a £90 million private investment backing Hampshire County Council's LEVI programme (June 2026), an ultra-rapid site with Primesite Group in South Yorkshire (May 2026), a £38 million Hertfordshire County Council rollout and a nationwide hospitality partnership with Mitchells & Butlers (April 2026), and the introduction of a night tariff plus Super League sponsorship earlier in 2026.

▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies

Market position

Believ is one of several UK charge point operators contributing to the government's target of 300,000 public chargers by 2030, a figure reported at around 80,000 at the time of its 2025 financing. Its £300M facility targets at least 30,000 new charge points. Other operators backed by Zouk Capital's CIIF include InstaVolt and char.gy.

Believ positions itself on privately funded delivery that avoids cost to local authorities, taxpayers and business site hosts, a focus on on-street and residential locations for drivers without off-street parking, use of 100% renewable energy, and commitments to reliability, accessibility and fair pricing. It also advocates on accessibility standards, welcoming the PAS 1899 review.

Technology

The network offers fast charging up to 22kW alongside rapid and ultra-rapid charge points powered by 100% renewable energy. Believ operates a consumer app and driver web portal providing charge point discovery, filtering, bookmarking, tariff display, payment, session start/stop, notifications and charging history and invoices, with contactless payment being rolled out and roaming enabled via Electroverse. The company is investing in proprietary software to manage its charging networks.

Go-to-market

Believ sells primarily through public sector procurement, winning local authority tenders and LEVI-funded rollouts, and through commercial partnerships with property, retail and hospitality operators. Delivery partnerships include Virgin Media O2 as a key delivery partner for network expansion. It supports demand generation with research reports on local authority charging challenges, sponsorship and community and education initiatives.

UK local authorities and councils procuring public charging infrastructure (including under LEVI); commercial site operators such as retail parks, hospitality venues and business parks; landowners with sites suitable for charging hubs; and EV drivers, particularly residential users without off-street parking and those in rural or underserved communities.

Geography

UK-wide network, headquartered in London, with deployments spanning England including Greater London (Tower Hamlets), Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Devon and Torbay, Redcar and Cleveland, Telford & Wrekin, Plymouth, Warrington, Leeds, Luton, South Yorkshire and Oxford.

History

Believ's charging app is published under the developer name Liberty Charge Limited. The company is jointly owned by Liberty Global and Zouk Capital, whose stake is supported by the UK Treasury's Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund. In June 2025 it announced a £300M investment facility combining equity from its shareholders with debt from Santander, ABN Amro, NatWest and MUFG, to fund at least 30,000 charge points. In April 2026 the company marked three years of growth.

Risks & controversies

Driver reviews of the iOS app on the UK App Store averaged 2.2 out of 5 across 76 ratings, with users citing login and payment failures, limited payment options and difficulties ending charging sessions; the company responded citing the Electroverse roaming partnership, a contactless payment rollout and website-based charging as alternatives.

Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported

IOS app average ratingJan 20262.2 out of 5

Planned new charge points under £300M facilityJun 202530,000 charge points

Zouk Capital assets under managementJan 2026600,000,000 EUR

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Competitors · 2

by search overlap

Diamond Foundry7 shared keywordsDiamond Foundry manufactures lab-grown single-crystal diamond, including diamond wafers, with a vertically integrated approach spanning reactor and process technology in its own foundries. Its output spans consumer diamond jewelry (via its VRAI unit) and semiconductor applications, positioning diamond as a material foundation for AI chips, datacenters, and electric cars.

Blinkcharging6 shared keywordsBlink Charging provides EV charging stations and turnkey charging services, including commercial Level 2 and DC fast chargers as well as residential chargers, along with installation, maintenance, remote monitoring, and support. It serves businesses, property owners, and EV drivers across public and private locations such as workplaces, hotels, apartments, and retail sites.

Companies competing with Believ for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Timeline · 20

launches, deals, and filings

Aug 2026

Believ begins its largest rapid and ultra-rapid charge point rollout in Tower Hamlets