We focus on negotiating, buying and delivering the most effective Business Electricity, Business Gas and Business Water supply contracts: securing the most economical supply arrangements available.
Our expert energy procurement team places thousands of contracts each year on behalf of hundreds of clients in all industry sectors. We have a proven track record in outperforming the market for our clients.
100% independent, we always tender out to the whole market, ranging from all the big suppliers to smaller trusted providers, and we always work on a like-for-like basis: commission rates are the same. At all times we work to reduce costs, remove uncertainty, eliminate risk and optimise supplies by negotiating, preparing and recommending the optimum supply contracts.
We have more experience in the buying marketplace than any other similar provider, for fixed, flex and basket contracts. Our expert teams advise on and deliver the best options for a business and its requirements. With all negotiations, processes and documentation open and transparent, three factors make us different:
Our consulting approach means we can see the bigger picture in terms of utility markets and pricing while simultaneously focusing on specific client requirements and objectives. This includes taking a detailed look at a client’s business energy and water portfolio, as well as their operational and financial objectives; enabling us to recommend the services, suppliers and contracts that best meet those needs.
We have genuine cross-border expertise to procure, manage and optimise essential utilities. No other provider has more experience and know-how working with the quirks of multiple energy markets and suppliers. Uniquely, we can ‘roll up’ individual national services and solutions in any combination.
When to buy and when not to buy? Our consulting approach means we can confidently advise in-house purchasing and operations teams, helping to define and deliver the most effective buying strategies for a business and its changing requirements. This can range from advising on the timing of purchase for fixed procurement and ensuring all contracts are accepted and countersigned at the right time, to strategic and tactical flex buying as part of a wider approach to utility management and costs. Our experts proactively track wholesale markets to advise on the right time to purchase different aspects of utility and energy requirements, profiting from beneficial changes while minimising risk.
Energy prices are increasing; with commodity and non-commodity costs combining to bring 20-30% rises year on year for many customers. And with this trend looking set to continue, is it time to look at an alternative approach?
The Consultus Buying Club (CBC) first founded in 2010 was created to provide flexible energy procurement to smaller mid-market companies. It works by aggregating the volume of a group of companies with similar approaches to energy purchasing under one portfolio, allowing CBC Members to benefit from:
As an award-winning energy consultancy with over 24 years of operations, Consultus has a proven track record of outperforming the market minimums over the past decade. Based on our long standing relationships with suppliers and transparent, “open book” approach to clients, we are able to negotiate the best terms available and provide unbiased and transparent recommendations. CBC key benefits include:
CBC Members have a choice of purchasing approach, dependant on their need for budget certainty and risk appetite. This gives CBC Members total control of their energy purchasing:
Provides price certainty while enabling the client to take advantage of any downward market movement. Budget Guard sets a maximum commodity price at the outset of trading, above which the price will never exceed*, providing budget certainty and peace of mind.
Our best performing strategy versus the market minimum, Market Tracker covers a CBC member’s energy needs in a rising market, protecting them from further rises. As and when the market falls, Market Tracker seeks to take full advantage of price falls by allowing the client to re-enter the market. Based on the last decade performance this strategy provides 10%-13% savings on annual energy spend vs the market minimum and is ideally suited to clients looking to take full advantage of market volatility.
Simplifying complexity and protecting clients from market volatility, our fixed price energy options bring total certainty throughout the lifespan of an energy contract: organisations can better understand and control budgets with more accurate forecasting of expenditure. Contracts can be fully fixed for up to five years ahead and reviewed up to 12 months in advance of the contract end date – giving absolute certainty over costs for the agreement’s duration.
If organisations want more freedom and choice in their buying, our flexible procurement options are a way to take advantage of changing market conditions and fluctuating prices while spreading the risks associated with buying over multiple purchase points. Our expert negotiating team takes care of the complexity while our clients retain complete control over more flexible purchasing, capitalising on upward and downward market trends to optimise and reduce costs.
Our fully managed approach to consortium and group purchasing, for non-financially linked companies, means that every organisation can now benefit from economies of scale and optimised pricing in business electricity, gas & water – driving more flexible purchasing, reduced risk and lower costs. Aggregating volumes and guaranteeing no cross-subsidies, our approach delivers measurable financial benefits year after year, saving our clients the time, effort and resources required to seek out the right contracts.
Our market intelligence, procurement and risk teams constantly monitor and track utility markets, prices and products. We have a deep understanding of market trends and direction of travel at all times, in terms of both the risks and the opportunities presented. This means we can advise clients on the best course of action to meet their specific demands. These insights are particularly useful for organisations that require a fully managed service and do not have specialised buying expertise in-house but nevertheless want to access the best value support contracts.
We are proud to set the benchmark for an open, ethical and transparent approach to procuring business electricity, gas & water. While many Third Party Intermediaries are trustworthy, bad practices such as fee stacking, re-quoting and ‘double dipping’ are reported regularly, and not all suppliers audit the brokers they partner with. A pioneer in deregulated utility markets, we have built a reputation in the industry for openness, honesty, trusted market intelligence and ethical working practices – an approach that has resulted in client retention levels of more than 97 percent. Suppliers regularly say our fees are among the lowest they see, our charges are transparent, and our hedging performance is market-leading.
Willing to go further than most providers, we have formalised a Code of Practice that gives current and prospective clients assurances around our working practices, systems, staff and training. Taken in conjunction with our values, processes and operating model, the code confirms:
We believe that our approaches and the Code of Practice should be adopted industry-wide.