Tees Business Tees Business issue 12 | Page 28

28 Shining | Tees light Business – Utility Alliance , based at Hartlepool ’ s picturesque Marina , has experienced huge growth in 2017 .

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Utility Alliance turnover expected to treble to £ 18m after huge year of growth

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It ’ s fair to say 2017 has been a good year for Hartlepool-based energy consultancy Utility Alliance . The company moved into new premises in the first week of January , they ’ ve taken on more than 100 new staff , they ’ ve expanded the operation elsewhere in the UK and they ’ ve picked up regional and national honours along the way .

As success stories go , this isn ’ t a bad one . But don ’ t expect the directors at the firm to rest on their laurels as we go into the New Year .
With their financial year ending in February , the Utility Alliance number crunchers predict that last year ’ s £ 6m turnover will at least treble to a staggering £ 18m , and plans are already in place to open up another office in the south to add to the branch which opened in Sheffield in September .
It ’ s been an exciting time for everyone connected with the business , as PR and marketing manager Ian Willis explains .
“ It ’ s difficult to know where to start when it comes to describing how 2017 has been for Utility Alliance as a company ,” he said .
“ I joined the firm in the first week of January , on the day they officially moved into the new building . I sensed a real buzz about the place , and as we all got settled in to the new surroundings , that buzz continued .
“ You would have expected the novelty to wear off as the weeks wore on , but hand on heart there is still a real sense of excitement around the place as we approach the end of the year . It ’ s a target-driven operation , people know what is expected of them on a weekly and monthly basis , and there is a determination to end the year on a high and go into 2018 looking to keep that growth going .”
Led by directors Bob Moore , Darren Sutherland and Phill Moore , the Hartlepool workforce now stands at 276 . The Sheffield operation currently has a 40-strong team in place , and an ongoing recruitment drive will see that rise to 150 in the first quarter of 2018 .
Negotiations are underway to open a third office , while field sales teams are also growing to spread the word across the nation .
Willis added : “ We ’ re in the business of sales , and if people don ’ t know who you are then they are unlikely to buy from you . For that reason , when I was brought in I was effectively given a free reign by the directors , other than the instruction to raise brand awareness .
“ I ’ ve used various tactics to do that , and to be fair to the bosses they ’ ve backed pretty much everything I ’ ve suggested . I got them into negotiations to sponsor Hartlepool United after the club had been relegated from the Football League .
“ I think they thought I ’ d lost my marbles at first , but they eventually went for it and we got a lot of good PR from the deal from the local community for backing the club when others were walking away .
“ The media coverage from that led to Burnley Football Club contacting us . They ’ re in the Premier League and before we knew it we had struck a deal where we had our logo on their kit and advertising boards around the stadium which were popping up on Match of the Day and Sky Sports every weekend .
“ But the good thing about how we operate is it ’ s not just about throwing money about to get our logo out there . We do a deal where we will provide the utilities , and from the money we make on that deal , a pot of money is created from which we can pump back in through a commercial deal .
“ It ’ s not just football clubs , we deal with