Press Release: May 2008

Spark Energy announces largest deal yet 

Spark Energy has been appointed by asset management company, Touchstone to supply gas and electricity to its large-scale residential property portfolio in a deal worth £7.2m. 

Touchstone is part of the Paladin Group, which includes Castle Estate Residential Lettings and operates residential and commercial property services for 12,000 properties on behalf of institutional landlords and commercial property owners across the UK. 

The UK’s newest energy company, Spark Energy provides gas and electricity to the residential lettings market and after securing one of its largest deals yet with Touchstone, will now be in a position to provide energy to 60,000 properties managed by over 300 letting agents. 

Spark relieves the administrative burden of tenant utilities for letting agents, allowing them to concentrate on running their business and maintain high levels of customer service. 

Commenting on the partnership, Jon Clark, Operations Director at Touchstone says: “We were attracted to Spark’s innovative and forward thinking approach to supplying energy and it seemed like the best fit solution for our clients and business needs.” 

Spark Energy CEO, PJ Darling says: “We are naturally delighted to be working with Touchstone and for Spark to be associated with one of the key players in the property management industry.  “This is one of our most significant business wins and represents another milestone in the growth of the company.”  

Spark Energy identified a gap in the UK energy market ignored by the “big six” energy suppliers and will continue to grow by forging further deals with high profile letting agents.   

Latest Spark jobs

Job Title:

Demand Forecast Manager

This role is critical to drive Spark Energy’s energy purchase strategy.  In this economically pivotal role you must have a keen understanding of the effects of weather, customer demographics and the factors affecting their energy usage.

To succeed in this role you will need to have strong analytical and spreadsheet modelling skills.  Energy sector experience, especially previous experience in a demand forecasting role would be an advantage.

This role will report to the Finance Director, and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to grow with the Company.

Contact:

If you are interested in this role, please contact Adrian Musto on 07860 183660 or email your CV to recruitment@sparkenergy.co.uk quoting ref code df1.

Agreement magazine- June issue 2008

Energetic expansion for Spark 

Spark Energy continues to fuel its rapid expansion into the UK energy market, winning a series of deals worth an estimated £5m during the last three months.

The energy provider, supplying gas and electricity to lettings agents, has acquired 50 high profile partners including Harvey Scott Properties Ltd and Howards Residential Lettings, representing a total in excess of 20,000 properties under management. 

This news has allowed Spark Energy to double the size of its customer service team and centralise it under one roof at the company’s head office in the Scottish Borders as well as introducing a number of IT-led process improvements. Amongst these improvements, the company has introduced a data feed system to streamline the letting agent’s administration process, enabling them to manage the change of tenancy process automatically, which also reduces errors. This allows letting agents to concentrate on running their business and tenants to concentrate on enjoying their new home with Spark’s price guarantee and tenant benefits package.  

The company also plans to roll out Smart Meters across its entire customer base this year, helping tenants see exactly where they are using energy thereby enabling the tenancy to reduce usage and their bills. 

PJ Darling, CEO Spark Energy says: “We’ve had a lot of success for a company that isn’t even two years old. Not only are we already generating revenue but we are increasing revenue 20% month on month. From past experience I know only too well the headache tenant utilities cause letting agents, so it’s great to be providing a service that none of the Big 6 are addressing.” 

Michelle Foreman-Rowe of Howards Residential Lettings, operating 10 offices across East Anglia comments: "Spark has listened and understood the letting agent’s frustration in dealing with utilities.  Personal contact rather than a call centre combined with a service that fits with a high level of turnover is a great combination.”

Fancy winning £500......

Read it and Reap!

Spark Energy customers are being offered the chance to win £500 just for giving an accurate meter reading. All customers are being asked to submit a reading before the 1^st of July and those that do will be entered into a prize draw with a £500 first prize.  Meter readings are essential in allowing Spark to create accurate quarterly statements and monthly direct debit collections. Customers can submit readings anytime on the website by clicking ‘submit a reading’ or by returning postage paid meter reading cards.  

Terms and Conditions

The Insider- 1st May 2008

One to watch- PJ Darling, Spark Energy 

Setting up a company aimed at taking on the big boys in the gas and electricity provision market may seem a tall order.

But PJ Darling, who founded Selkirk headquartered Spark Energy just over a year ago, identified a gap in the market ignored by the Big Six - providing services to the residential lettings market.

By the end of the current funding round, the company's David versus Goliath assault on the energy market attracted £1.2m - including a £500,000 investment by a London-based investment house - enabling Darling to rapidly increase his rate of growth.

Although still in the throes of the company's birth, Darling points out that Spark Energy currently supplies gas and electricity to some 3000 properties and intends to increase that to 20,000 by the end of the year.

The company takes care of all the admin hassle involved in changing utilities at the time of a change in tenants, in exchange for having the agreement switched to Spark by the letting agent.

"There are only about three million residential tenants in the UK but it is a huge opportunity for us," Darling explains.

"We are looking for about 8 per cent of the total market over the next five years, so it will be about 200,000 customers by 2012. That said, the average customer spends about £1000 a year on electricity and gas so you are looking at around a £200m company in terms of turnover."

He adds that the company should be "earnings-positive" by around November, although it is already "cash-positive".

Darling's first foray into entrepreneurialism was starting a minicab company in London called Blueback.

"It was such a non-sexy industry that nobody had bothered to consolidate it," he says.

"That was what we intended to do so we raised about £5m in angel funding to build a new, branded platform and to start taking over various companies within the marketplace."

So far, Darling says, Spark Energy is not on the radar of the Big Six providers - Scottish & Southern Energy, British and Scottish Gas, Npower, EDF, E.ON and Scottish Power.

"They know about this marketplace but have not entered it as it is too small," he adds.

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