FG Whitley & Sons

Industry: Property management and developers

Service: Purchasing, invoice validation and tenancy recharging

Result: Initial billing advice saved FG Whitley & Sons nearly £20,000 in the first six weeks, with ongoing cost savings achieved through IEC’s managed support.

About FG Whitley & Sons

FG Whitley & Sons has been in business since 1961, in the property management and development sector. It has completed projects for housing estates, commercial properties, highway improvements, bridges and other structures, environmental improvements, car parks and office blocks in North Wales and the North West for a variety of public clients, including local and government agencies, and private clients. It is a family-run business, with a commercial property portfolio across North Wales including shops, factories and offices, which cater for all business types, budgets and locations.

The project brief

In the summer of 2024 Innovative Energy Consultancy (IEC) was brought in to audit the energy usage and cost across FG Whitley & Sons’ property portfolio and to manage the ongoing energy purchasing and invoice validation for the business. The company was looking for an energy partner that could reduce its costs and source the best value energy providers for the business’ requirements. With its portfolio of properties, it also wanted an expert partner who had experience of working with property management organisations to meet their energy needs (including completing tenant Change of Tenancy amendments on their behalf).   

The solution

Upon reviewing the business’ existing energy contracts, the first thing IEC discovered was that a gas supplier was stating FG Whitley & Sons had breached a contract clause.  IEC provided evidence to the relevant supplier of no breach, which resulted in a £20,000 saving in the first six weeks of the relationship. On further investigation, IEC found that the energy purchasing was fragmented, and some further simple savings could be made by taking a more strategic approach to purchasing, which IEC quickly and efficiently implemented.

In an additional project, IEC managed the removal of several unused electricity supplies at a disused substation. IEC liaised with the local distributor for these to be disconnected in March 2025, which should provide an ongoing saving of approximately £7500 per month. 

In addition to the energy purchasing, IEC manage the ongoing invoice validation, ensuring that the billing is correct and aligns with the energy usage onsite. IEC also produce monthly recharges for FG Whitley & Sons tenants, which calculate each tenants energy cost and usage and allows FG Whitley & Sons to invoice accordingly.  One of the company’s energy consultants visits monthly, to take the meter readings and discuss the ongoing support with the management team.

“With a property portfolio across North Wales, we recognised the need to outsource our energy management. The process of managing tenant recharges and change of tenancies can be complex, and we wanted to work with a company with the experience and expertise to manage this for us. IEC managed to save us money from day one and identified further savings quickly afterwards.

“With the team at IEC, we know that if we ask them to do something, we know it will be done. Gavin Williams comes in once a month, to take all the meter readings and ensure that our invoicing is accurate. We are confident that IEC sources the best value and has managed to secure reduced prices on our gas and electricity.”

Paul Whitley, director, FG Whitley & Sons