Utilitywise

Utilitywise was a British energy consultancy company based in Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. The business had operations across the UK at their North Tyneside base, Redditch, Bury St Edmonds, Portsmouth and Leicester, as well as 150 staff in the Czech Republic.

Utilitywise
TypePublic limited company
IndustryEnergy broker
FateAdministration/closure
Founded2006 (2006) in Gateshead, United Kingdom
FounderGeoffrey Thompson
DefunctFebruary 2019 (2019-02)
Headquarters
Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Europe[1]
Number of employees
800 (2014)
Websiteutilitywise.com

History

Utilitywise was founded in 2006 in Team Valley, Gateshead by Geoffrey Thompson as Commercial Utility Brokers Limited.[2] In 2010 the business was rebranded as Utilitywise.[3] When Utilitywise entered the Alternative Investment Market in 2012 at 60p per share the Financial Times described the business as "the belle of the ball".[4] In 2013 the company won the AIM's "Best Use of AIM Award" and in 2014 won their "Company of the Year Award".[5][6]

In 2012 the business moved from Jarrow to South Shields,[7] then in 2014 as the business was further expanding they relocated to the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside in the largest North East office leasing deal since 2009, taking 77,632 sq ft of space.[2]

By 2014 the company's market value rose above £200m and had 800 employees.[8][4] One of the company's investors was the high-profile Neil Woodford who owned 29%.[9] In 2015 Utilitywise acquired Energy Intelligence Centre for £15.5 million and later rebranded that division of the business simply as EIC.[10]

In 2017 the founder, Geoffrey Thompson, stepped down as chairman,[11] and sold his remaining 6% stake in 2018.[12]

In 2018 Utilitywise partnered with Vodafone and Dell EMC to deliver IoT energy monitoring solutions.[13][14] Utilitywise entered into operations in Prague, Czech Republic when it acquired ICON Communication Centres.[15]

In January 2019 the company put itself up for sale after announcing that it needed a cash injection of £10 million to keep the business afloat.[16] In early February the administrators were in discussions with potential investors to rescue the business.[17]

On 14 February the company entered administration.[18] Creditors lodged claims of £116.1 million at the time of its collapse.[19] Initially at the time of entering administration 570 jobs were lost at its North Tyneside base.[4]

In April, two months after entering administration it was announced that The Monarch Partnership had acquired the Energy Intelligence Centre and T-Mac Technologies enterprise businesses from Utilitywise.[20]

References
  1. "Energy firm announces jobs boost". BBC News. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. "Utilitywise geared for growth in Cobalt Business Park move". Cobalt Business Park. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. "Utilitywise PLC - Overview". Companies House. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. Burgess, Kate (17 February 2019). "Utilitywise is a sorry tale that might yet serve a purpose". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. "2014 Winners". AIM Awards.
  6. "2013 Winners". AIM Awards.
  7. "Fuel consultancy creates 200 jobs". BBC News. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. Ford, Coreena (20 June 2014). "Utilitywise staff and directors sell 10 million shares - The Journal". The Journal. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  9. Neate, Rupert (8 June 2019). "Bright star to black hole: the rise and fall of fund manager Neil Woodford". The Observer.
  10. "Utilitywise rebrands corporate division as EIC". The Energyst. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  11. Ambrose, Jillian (10 November 2018). "Energy broker Utilitywise's troubles grow as founder dumps stake". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. Ambrose, Jillian (12 February 2019). "Utilitywise founder in talks over eleventh hour rescue bid". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. O'Connell, Dermot (25 September 2018). "Save Costs & the Planet with IoT". DellEMC. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  14. "Intelligent Building Controls" (PDF). Utilitywise. February 2018.
  15. "Square One Law advises Utilitywise on acquisition of Czech call centre operator, ICON Communication Centres". Square One Law. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  16. "460 jobs lost on North Tyneside as Utilitywise goes into administration". ITV News. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  17. Ambrose, Jillian (9 February 2019). "Utilitywise facing collapse within weeks". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  18. "Utilitywise goes into administration". BBC News. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  19. Manning, Jonathon (18 September 2019). "Utilitywise staff will receive £1.2m payout after firm's collapse". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  20. "Corporate division of Utilitywise acquired". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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