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UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD MARCH 2017 | 9 Water brokers Grand Union Water Company Grand Union Water is a new entrant to the broker market and will be focused entirely on water rather than offering bundled ser- vices. It is a partnership formed last year. Co-founder Peter Sceats has traded, bro- kered and consulted across the electricity, gas, coal and water industries. His introduction to the water market was through working on the Water White Paper in 2010 and 2011, to help assess whether England should open the market in the same way as Scotland, and whether it was the right time to start looking at competition in the wholesale market. Once he had completed his work on the Water White Paper, Sceats then became co-ordinator of European markets for large US energy adviser Tradition Energy, procuring electricity and gas for medium and large-scale energy consumers. He remained in the role for five- and-a-half years before stepping down in 2016 to focus on starting up Grand Union Water. He says he is excited by the prospect of a deregulated water mar- ket in England. "For too long water bills for businesses have gone direct to accounts departments for payment and not always to facili- ties or procurement people for validation and checking. Water con- sumption reduction is insufficiently focused on, and there is a vast opportunity in that regard," he says. Grand Union Water's business plan is a three-step process: 1. Water bill validation: to check a customer's bills and make claims which highlight overcharges or errors by water retailers. 2. Water audit: to identify consumption reduction opportunity with clear recommendations based on retrofit return on investment, additional leakage monitoring and water efficiency services are included in this part of the service. 3. Water tender: to encourage water retailers to compete for the cli- ent's business and identify the best supplier in an ethical manner. The company has been shaping its offering to customers since it formed, and has been actively marketing that offering since March 2016. When looking to place a client's business with a retailer, Grand Union says it wants to make sure the retailer is not tied in any way to any one single utility adviser. It is against exclusivity, sweetheart deals and kickbacks. As the broker takes care of services such as leakage and efficiency via its audit, it will look to a retailer in terms of overseeing supply and billing, ethics and transparency. The company, which currently has 15 employees, is keen to expand. It is in the process of opening a regional office in Essex and another in an as-yet-undecided area in the North of England. tomers with a single point of service for all three utili- ties. It will then aim to find the best deal in the market, as well as offering bill-checking and water-reduction services, allowing customers to simplify their billing, receive improved service, and save money. In the water market, Utilitywise will not target a spe- cific segment, but will advise all businesses regardless of size or location. Utilitywise suggests that the key to water efficiency is to reduce water waste, not restrict use. As part of its service to business water customers, the firm offers a "water desktop analysis" to identify water savings through a comprehensive examination of a customer's water supply, use and disposal. As part of this, Utility- wise provides the customer with: • a dedicated water consultant; • a review of water company supply invoices; • leakage assessment and water-loss analysis; • analysis of wastewater disposal, including trade effluent where appropriate; • surface water drainage assessment; • a detailed report highlighting all findings; • recommendations for cost savings and recovery of overcharges. From this, the broker will establish whether the customer's site(s) requires further investigation. If this is the case, it will visit the site to conduct a full water audit, including site meters, water fittings and site drainage. FACT FILE Founded: February 2016 Headquarters: Marylebone, London Main business: Water Services: bill validation, water auditing and competitive procurement Employees: 15 Target market: all Managing director: Peter Sceats (also co-founder) Revenue (2016): n/a Pre-tax profit (2016): n/a Fee or commission: share of savings, fee per tender or combination Additional: Founding member of the Water Procurement Advisor Code of Conduct FACT FILE Founded: 2006 Headquarters: Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside Employees: 1,500+ Target market: all Clients: 38,500 including Europe; 32,000 excluding Chair: Geoff Thompson CEO: Brendan Flattery (pictured) CFO: Richard Laker Revenue (2016): £84.5m Pre-tax profit (2016): £17.8m Fee or commission: both – but for SMEs there is a management fee added to energy unit rates on the customer and what they are comfortable with. Its switching service is funded by the commission it receives from energy suppliers. The broker will offer a similar service to water cus- tomers when the market opens, and anticipates that most businesses will be able to save 25 per cent on their commercial water bills. It has plans to add a number of value- added services to its portfolio, which it says will require growth to main- tain a high quality of service.