The Energy Saving Trust is to become a social enterprise and will seek charitable status, as government funding will end in 2012.

The plan will see the incorporation of a new charitable parent company together with a wholly owned trading subsidiary, while retaining the current status in order to continue to manage substantial government funded activity.

EST chief executive Philip Sellwood said: "Reduction in public subsidy has come as absolutely no surprise which is why we have been planning for change.

"Even after the reduction in funding from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, our revenue will still be 75% of previous levels. We are ideally placed to continue in our success of winning long-term contracts post 2012 when our DECC grant funding ceases."