28 | Tees Business
By Martin Walker
JOBS
BONANZA
Splash Utilities half way to 100 + job target already
An ambitious new utility broker is already half way to creating 100 new jobs for Teesside with its big plans .
Entrepreneur Tony Anderson launched Splash Utilities towards the end of 2017 – choosing Middlesbrough over several other big cities – after he spotted an opportunity in what is already a booming industry .
An adopted Teessider – he moved to the region 20 years ago and currently lives in Hartlepool – Tony is originally from the Leeds and Bradford areas and has worked in outsourcing for several years .
His career has included six years in one of the business divisions of Serco , a global business process outsourcing company , and he has also managed high-profile accounts over the years including Sky .
His latest venture came about after the deregulation of the water industry last year – giving customers the freedom to switch , just as they can with their gas and electric suppliers .
“ When the water deregulation came into force in April 2017 , we saw a gap in the market ,” says Tony , Splash ’ s managing director .
“ An opportunity to provide three utilities to businesses – not just gas and electricity , but water as well . A multi-utility offering with improved discounts across the board .”
Splash was quickly born and the business moved into the 8,000 sq ft vacant premises in
Support – head of HR Denise Moore ( right ) and HR assistant Shannon Nixon are still busy recruiting a number of new roles for Splash Utilities .
Royal Middlehaven House on Gosford Street in Middlesbrough last year .
And , after renovating the first floor space to an impressive standard , it ’ s already quickly becoming a busy hive of activity with 50 staff in place – but the recruitment drive is far from finished .
“ We ’ re about half full , but it ’ ll be full by the end of the summer ,” insists Tony . “ That will include 100-plus front-line staff as well as back office personnel such as finance , HR , sales , admin , PR and marketing .
“ This project will deliver significant numbers in itself , but we don ’ t want to grow too big too quickly . Of course , we ’ re ambitious , but we want to make sure first of all that we ’ re bringing value and a quality service to the market place . To do that , you need a rigid structure within your business .”
Tony has revealed that he turned down