40 | Tees Business
Stunning – how Utility Alliance’ s new building at Hartlepool Marina lights up at night.
Hartlepool’ s shining light
An incredible Teesside success story is happening at Hartlepool Marina...
Just over two years ago, Darren Sutherland and Bob Moore were in charge of a team of six staff, having recently set up Utility Alliance.
The duo, vastly experienced in the energy sector, had opted to launch their own business after deciding that even though the competition was tough, there was more than enough business to go round.
Fast forward to the end of their second financial year, turnover figures in excess of £ 5 million are testament to their decision to go it alone.
As he sits in the company’ s new headquarters at Hartlepool Marina – with a team of 140 staff on the floors below – Sutherland says the gamble has paid off.“ Of course it was a gamble,” he said.“ We were in jobs working in the same sector, and doing very well. We were setting up deals for hundreds of thousands of pounds, and something just sort of clicked that said‘ We can do this’.“ Myself and Bob set up the business, then Bob’ s brother Phill – who is also hugely experienced – came on board with us a little further down the line. It’ s just grown from there really.
“ When we made it public that we were going to create 16 opportunities for apprentices, some people said we were setting our sights too high. Those 16 came in, then there was another 50, and we continued to expand.
“ In mid-January we brought in 64 staff with a view to getting them trained as
Managing director Darren Sutherland says it’ s an exciting time for Utility
Alliance after seeing the firm grow from six to 140 staff in just two years. energy consultants. It’ s an ongoing recruitment drive, and as staff learn the ropes, opportunities are available for them to move up the ladder within Utility Alliance.”
Utility Alliance works on a B2B basis, reviewing companies’ energy usage and billing and then taking over the running of the contracts and matching them with tariffs in the most costeffective way for their client.
They work with businesses of all sizes, ranging from independent shops to retail giants and small office buildings to much larger national companies with multi sites.
Sutherland added:“ All businesses need gas and electricity. And all businesses want to do what they can to save money. That will never change.
“ What we found when we set up our initial business plan was that 85 % of companies didn’ t use an energy broker. They just got