Heard the news? We have been making waves in the Scottish water industry with our recent Brightwater press release. Our fantastic announcements have been featured in The Scotsman, Insider, Daily Business Group, Scottish Financial News, Scottish Business News, and Utility Weekly.
Brightwater Press Release February 2023
Brightwater acquires English competitor and announces new Managing Director
Retail water supplier Brightwater has announced the acquisition of the customer portfolio of Bristol-based competitor Blue Business Water Ltd, a move which increases its annual customer revenues to over £9m.
Edinburgh-based Brightwater, which supports SME customers by delivering cost savings through competitive pricing, efficiency optimisation and outstanding service, now has the sixth biggest customer-base in the Scottish retail water market.
The company was set up in 2016 by its former Managing Director Rich Rankin, who continues to serve the business as a non-executive Director, and Spotless Commercial Cleaning founder Roger Green.
Brightwater positions itself as an ‘ambitious challenger to the larger players’ in the Scottish retail water market. This includes incumbent provider Business Stream, which lost its monopoly after the sector opened to competition in 2008 when Scotland became the first country in the world to roll out deregulation.
Since entering the market, Brightwater has put a strong focus on helping customers lower water bills by reducing usage. The company points out that if every business in Scotland were to reduce their usage by 10 percent, it would save in excess of 16 billion litres a year, the equivalent of 6,440 Olympic size swimming pools, saving business up to £35m in charges each year.
In the current market where business customers in Scotland can currently choose from over 20 licensed water retailers, Brightwater has sought to differentiate itself by offering friendly, effective customer service, competitive pricing and proactive advice. The company has also invested in employee initiatives aimed at attracting talent and motivating its team.
Brightwater has also announced the appointment of Tom Barberton as its new Managing Director. Tom is a highly experienced utilities sector veteran who has held senior leadership roles with the likes of British Gas, Total, and a number of B2B and B2C energy start-ups.
This includes B2B energy provider Extra Energy in Birmingham where Tom was recruited as part of the company’s launch team. While there he was Head of Direct sales with a team of 70 with a wide remit covering customer relationship management, recruitment to retention, losses, and net margin performance.
He then transitioned from the B2B energy market to the residential energy sector where he moved to Scotland to take on the role of Head of Direct Sales at Spark Energy. He was later appointed as that company’s Director of Sales where he operated onshore and offshore outsource operations, and was responsible for overseeing significant projects including SMART metering installation across Spark’s portfolio.
In 2021 Tom was initially recruited by Roger Green as Group Sales Director, covering operations across Brightwater, Spotless, and its waste management subsidiary company Brightwaste.
Brightwater Chief Executive Roger Green said: “Tom is a great fit for us as Managing Director. He has lived through the deregulation process in electricity and can bring his knowledge and leadership to Brightwater and the water sector. He will take our philosophy of customer care and employee empowerment to the next level, while integrating the increased customer base into the main portfolio.”
Tom Barberton said: “I’m pleased to take on this new challenge as Brightwater’s Managing Director. The company is supported by a great team and an experienced board, and I look forward to playing a key role to further grow the business.”
Press release written by Bill Shaw.
We are so excited to see where our recent growth and appointment takes the business in future.
Interested in our water services? See them here at let us look after your business.
