Cube Corner – January 21

I hope you all had a great Xmas and New Year break, it was all a little different this year but hope you are all re-charged for the year ahead. It certainly looks like there may be some more challenges ahead but I am sure the local business community can help each other through the next couple of months.

In this months Cube Corner I wanted to introduce City Utilities who I am assisting with their Business Development and Partnership Strategy. City Utilities is headed up  by Steve Darby,  no introductions necessary to a number of you I am sure, and Malcolm Jacobs who has immense experience in this area. City Utilities will be specialising on a number of areas across your business to find efficient ways of cost saving. I caught up with Steve for an update:

City Utilities is a small company with a big idea! To help businesses of all sizes, get the best possible deal on their utility contracts, and reduce costs through their energy audits.

To do this, its directors deliberately set the company up to have a very low-cost base; we do not have luxurious offices or embark on expensive advertising campaigns. We are growing through a process of referrals and good old fashioned hard work.

City Utilities have a strong working relationship with over 30 of the UK’s utility suppliers, giving us access to the best possible rates. This control on costs and relationships with suppliers means we can pass on all these savings to our customers and guarantee we will beat any like for like renewal quote.

The directors are drawn from many industries, all of whom have managed, run, or own businesses. This means they completely understand the stresses and strains running a business can produce and appreciate that time can often be in short supply.

People often ask “why should we use a broker; the quick answer is it will save you time and money, with over thirty energy suppliers in the UK just imagine how much time it would take you to contact them all and ask them for prices, we are talking hours if not days.

Because the process of either going direct or using a broker can be frustrating, many businesses elect to continue with their existing supplier or worse still do not renew their contract at all. If you use electricity or gas but are not under a contract, you will be placed on what is called a Deemed Tariff that, according to Ofgem, can be up to 80% more expensive than rates charged in a negotiated contract. Ofgem state that up to 10% of small businesses are on Deemed contracts.

We are only just getting started, so as well as gas, electricity, water contracts, we can carry out Energy Audits, advise on water-saving devices, bring you industry beating rates on your credit card merchant services and help you assess the feasibility of setting up solar power systems. We will shortly be announcing a partnership with one of the best facilities companies in the business, and as we go on we will look to add more services to our company becoming a one-stop outsource resource for business.

Phone: 01273 600300
Email: info@cityutilities.co.uk
Email: steve.darby@cityutilities.co.uk