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utILItY WeeK | 29th August - 4th september 2014 | 9 Interview A t first glance, Spark is a poster boy for competition in energy. A small supplier to rental tenants which recently signed up its 100,000th household, it is an entrepreneurial David slugging it out against the Goli- aths of the big six. So far, so good – but a quick Google search suggests there's more to this story. The supplier is being investigated by Ofgem for switching customers to other suppliers without their knowledge, and its high level of service complaints was featured on the BBC's Watchdog in 2013. When he meets Utility Week on a summer morning in a bustling central London brasserie, Spark's managing director Chris Gauld holds up his hands on the switch- ing: the business was young and made a mistake, he admits. The complex regulatory regime is just one of the barriers to entry that small suppliers face, and Gauld has also had to grapple with the closed shop of the whole- sale market and the day-to-day uncertainty of energy prices. But Spark is growing up, and Gauld outlines big plans for the future, including a move into social rented accommodation and broadband provision. The story began in 2007, when Gauld, then a fresh- faced 35, was running a property management company in Glasgow. He spotted a gap in the market: "We had four people full-time managing tenant utilities – and tenants were having a nightmare, landlords were getting bills they didn't recognise, and we were paying people to sort it out. We went out looking for a solution, couldn't find one so we said, 'we'll start an energy company. It can't be that hard'." Gauld laughs ruefully. Seven years on, he knows just how hard it can be. Spark is a new entrant to the energy market and, despite former climate change minister Greg Barker's stated desire to see the big six turn into a "big 60,000", it is a rare beast indeed. Backed by private money from a group of wealthy investors, it has had solid success in the sales channel through its route to market – partnerships with lettings agents, who receive a kickback for signing up their tenants to Spark. As Gauld says: "The success has been in the sales channel – the biggest lettings agents get it and like it." This route to market has also caused Spark major problems. Until recently, the company was dogged by service complaints, which were picked up by the BBC's