NEWS
New product offers financial certainty to fuel suppliers
Specialist trade insurance broker , Attis Credit Solutions , has partnered with BondAval to bring MicroBonds to the UK fuel market . This cutting-edge product will provide S & P A-rated certainty to fuel suppliers into forecourts . It is instantly accessible to buyers and suppliers who can purchase the security via the BondAval platform to meet their contractual security obligations without requiring any cross collateralisation .
The MicroBond provides 100 % cover , on demand , with no excess . Claims for nonpayment are payable , typically , within days rather than weeks .
Suppliers receive investment-grade certainty that their retail clients will pay for their fuel per the terms of their contracts , while drastically reducing the friction and time involved in the security onboarding and renewal process .
The BondAval platform takes only a matter of minutes to produce a MicroBond , a process that would otherwise take weeks or even months .
Paul Martin , co-founder and co-MD of Attis Credit Solutions said : “ Providing certainty to a CFO / FD is a powerful tool . Doing it with no time cost whilst also freeing up tied capital for the buyers is a real game-changer . The BondAval platform is cutting-edge , and we look forward to working with the team to see it deployed across the UK fuel market ”.
Tom Powell co-founder and CEO of BondAval said : “ Working with Paul and his team is a real pleasure . Their insight , experience and expertise mean they truly understand the challenges in the fuel market , and opportunities which we can bring to market together . We ’ re excited to start building a long-term partnership ”.
Plans approved for IOW depot
Despite objections , Certas Energy ’ s plans for a new £ 1.5 million fuel depot on the Isle of Wight have been given the go ahead , with Certas promising to be on the Island “ for the long-haul ”.
Councillors on the Isle of Wight granted the fuel firm permission to install three tanks , fencing , parking , flood lights and an office building at the Island Technology Park in Whippingham . Following the closure of Isle of Wight Fuels last year , the Island was left without a main fuel supplier or hub .
Concerns have been raised over the environmental impact and safety of the site however , with concerns over the safety of the students at Priory School being one such issue , with trucks expected to be frequenting the new depot . Paul Williams , a managing director at the firm has assured that traffic movement will be kept at a minimum : “ What you ’ ll tend to find is that we ’ ll have the larger trucks to fill the depot itself , that will be done out of hours . Then the drivers would come in the following morning and would all load one after the other and then go out .
“ It would be blocks of movement so it ’ s not all of the time , all throughout the day . At this moment in time , we ’ re looking at no more than 30 movements ( a day ) and that is very manageable for us in terms of the location .”
Explaining further why the location on the Island is necessary , as opposed to ferrying fuel from the mainland to the Isle of Wight , Paul Williams continued : “ Going forward , what we ’ re trying to do is put proper infrastructure in place because , with the logistical challenges when you ’ re having to travel across on ferries and the different mix of fuels we provide , we need to make sure we have fuel available at all times .
“ It would only take one or two days of not being able to get across on a ferry before , quite quickly , you have run-out situations . So we see the benefit for the Island , that we put the infrastructure in place and we ensure then that the contingency stock is always available .”
Further issues raised refer to the flood lights , which the Campaign to Protect Rural England ( CPRE ) said would threaten the Island ’ s Dark Skies status and called the plans ‘ short-sighted ’ and ‘ aesthetically abhorrent ’, given its historical location .
Addressing the concerns , Paul Williams insisted the company is planning for the future : “ As we think about the energy transition and where we go , we want to make sure the depot is fit for purpose . So it ’ s not just for the next five years but it ’ s 10 , 15 , 20 years that we can grow and transition with the Island .
“ There will be things as part of the energy transition that we don ’ t know today , but we ’ ll make sure we work closely with all of the parties including the customers .”
Paul Williams also welcomed competition from a new firm , Solent Fuels , as ‘ healthy ’. David Grannum , former managing director at Isle of Wight Fuels is said to be behind the new fuel supplier .
We look forward to following the development of the new depot .
4 Fuel Oil News | August 2021