GOOD NEWS
The former trucker who built a multi-million-pound online
oil company from the spare room of his Teesside home will
always have reason to celebrate his birthday in style
WORDS: COLIN YOUNG
PICTURE: CHRIS BOOTH
Turning
up the heat
C
hris Bicknell turned 38 on July 1 but the date
also marked 12 years since the formation
of HomeFuels Direct, his Stockton-based
company that provided heating oil to locked
down homes across the country during the
coronavirus crisis.
Two years after its launch the company relocated
to offices at Stockton Business Centre where it
remains today. To celebrate its 12-year milestone, a
new website and data centre was launched at the
start of July to prepare for winter and build on its
success.
HomeFuels Direct is now one of the UK’s leading
online heating oil providers with attention to detail,
prices and delivery service which have set them apart
from their competitors. The company pulled in £12m
in sales last year and is the sector’s second most
successful operator.
When he decided to start his own business, Chris
knew it would be life-changing and it certainly proved
different from years spent on the road working for his
father’s Stockton haulage company.
Chris recalls: “I served a three-year apprenticeship
working for a large chemical distribution company
before I joined my dad’s business as an HGV driver
and it was a fantastic experience, but when the
business was sold in 2007, I had to get a proper job!
I worked as a contractor in an office but really didn’t
like it.
“I’d always wanted my own business and as I was
working in the petroleum industry and the internet
was just taking off, I thought I would sell heating oil
online and see how it went.
“I set up in my spare room, trying to get heating oil
sales off the ground. The first two years were painful
at times - a case of two steps forward, 20 back. In
hindsight, I spent so much on idiot tax, it’s scary.
The key is to make sure you don't spend too much
money on trial and error.
“I jumped into the unknown in so many ways, but
the business really took off and we started to get
an identity and understand our clients’ needs. That
meant we could find offices in Stockton and move
out of the bedroom with the socks and washing on
the bed.”
HomeFuels Direct has been awarded the Feefo
Platinum Trusted Service Award for 2020, thanks to
positive customer feedback on its efficient ordering and
delivery service - and some of the cheapest rates in the
UK.
Chris’s decision to provide a modern-day service paid
dividends during lockdown when thousands needed
more oil because they were stuck at home - and he is
hoping to build on the positive period.
“It’s been very busy,” he reflects. “With people
being furloughed, it affected their spending plans and
everyone needs to feed and heat their homes and they
have taken advantage of the fact consumption has
gone up and the oil price is low.
“We know what consumers want. We have more than
70,000 customers all over the UK now and we have
crafted their feedback on things we do well, and not so
well, to give the best customer service.
“If you are spending money, you want a service that
is pain-free, reliable and quick. It’s no good having great
cheap oil if it takes forever to arrive. Over 12 years, we
have been working the way I wanted and we can hold
our heads high.
“This is the best thing I have ever done. I don't even
class it as a job. It is 24/7 and far from a hobby, but
when you enjoy something it’s hard to see it as a job. I
don't get that Sunday/Monday feeling of the dread of
going to work. I absolutely love it because it’s my life
and it gets my heart pumping.”
For more details, visit homefuelsdirect.co.uk
Service - Chris Bicknell
of HomeFuels Direct.
66 | Tees Business