
BEST PRACTICE SPONSOR 2020
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
48 | UTILITY ALLIANCE
Utility Alliance is proud to
support several local causes,
highlighted by a sponsorship
deal with Hartlepool United FC
Utility Alliance, with three bases around
the UK, is regarded as one of the best-
performing energy consultants in the UK
Hartlepool-based B2B energy consultancy Utility Alliance
was established just five years ago, but it has grown to
a team of 450 people operating across three offices. Its
directors have more than 30 years’ experience in the sector,
and the firm won Hartlepool Business of the Year in 2017.
CEO Darren Sutherland tells
The Parliamentary Review
that
Utility Alliance trades, monitors and leverages the latest energy
technologies to save businesses time and money.
We were founded in February 2015 as a B2B energy consultancy. Our two
original directors established the business after building up a significant amount
of experience working for another company within the sector. As sales managers,
they would lead teams whose goal it was to secure new business, being paid ten
per cent of the commission. After building up a large set of contacts, they decided
to take a gamble and establish their own business, taking on four apprentices to
work on the phones.
Growing quickly
They soon found office space in a business centre for new start-ups in Hartlepool
and quickly drew up a business plan. Starting off with nothing, their aim for the
first year was to reach a turnover of £500,000; they significantly exceeded their
own expectations and by the end of the first year, the business had a turnover
of £1.1 million. Profits made were immediately invested back into the company
and a concerted recruitment drive followed, which led to the company having 60
employees by the end of this first year.
FACTS ABOUT
UTILITY ALLIANCE
»CEO: Darren Sutherland
»Managing Director:
BobMoore
»COO: Phill Moore
»Established in 2015
»Based in Hartlepool
»Services: B2B energy
consultancy
»No. of employees: 450
Utility Alliance
49UTILITY ALLIANCE |
As the business continued to grow,
turnover grew with it and by January
2017, we had reached £5 million.
Having outgrown our original
premises, with the workforce having
reached 150, we moved into a derelict
building, renovated the space and
constructed a purpose-built office
block. Alongside constituting a real
success for the company itself, this
new development was also a massive
boost to the local area. With the arrival
of all these new employees, the local
economy was invigorated and the
business received recognition from
local councils for our job creation and
stimulation of the local market. Our
greatest achievement to date is being
recognised as one of
The Sunday
Times
’ Best 100 Places to Work, a huge
achievement for a fledgling company.
Increasing brand exposure
The next step in the growth of our
business was to increase our brand
exposure, something which is central
when engaging in outbound sales.
We organised a number of campaigns
to boost this exposure, including
sponsoring the local football team and
becoming directly involved in the local
community, working with hospices and
local further education colleges.
Hartlepool has its share of socio-
economic problems and we helped to
tackle them through our regeneration
of the local area and our local
recruitment drives. In order to attract
younger generations, we have created
a vibrant, incentive-driven culture and
the effects of this have been clear to
see: 80 per cent of our workforce are
in the 18–30 bracket.
Building trust
A key element that sets us apart
from others in our sector is our
transparency. Our industry is
unregulated and because of this, there
are sometimes rogue elements who
tarnish the reputation of the industry.
In order to tackle this, we have focused
on transparency. All of our sales
staff have individual, inbound phone
numbers so they can be contacted
directly, and they are available to
answer any concerns during our
officehours.
Building up relationships with suppliers
has been key to our success. We have
developed relationships with 48 of the
top suppliers in the UK and Europe,
and to gain the trust of these suppliers,
who are often multi-billion pound
global businesses, we had to prove
ourselves. After presenting the results
we had achieved, we were able to win
their trust.
This has led to further growth and we
expanded beyond Hartlepool, opening
a new office in Sheffield, which
created a further 100 opportunities for
employment. This office, Utility Alliance
Yorkshire, recently celebrated its
second anniversary and has served to
expand both our reach and ourprofile.
Soon after, we opened an office in
Newcastle, an area with significant
competition. While there are five or six
large brokers in this area, there is also
a large talent pool. Potential recruits Utility Alliance HQ, located
on the picturesque
Hartlepool Marina
Our greatest
achievement
to date is
being
recognised as
one of
The
Sunday Times
’
Best 100
Places to
Work
“
“