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