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British Gas Business has launched a support package to help small businesses manage their costs
Half (50%) of small businesses across the UK are struggling to run successfully in today's challenging market conditions, according to research carried out for British Gas Business.
BERKSHIRE, UK, June 21, 2009 /Industrial PR News/ -- More than half (54%) of the companies surveyed by Datamonitor, on behalf of the UK's largest supplier of energy to businesses, admitted to problems in managing their cashflow.
To help its customers weather the economic storm, British Gas Business is launching a support package - SAVE (Small business Advice and Value Expertise). The initiative will support British Gas Business' estimated 750,000 small businesses with a more flexible approach to managing their costs and debt. The new service also provides advice and practical help on how they can reduce their energy costs through efficiency measures.
British Gas estimates that up to 40,000 small business customers may at some point require special assistance or flexibility on their energy bill payments during the recession and have launched a dedicated Expert Credit Solutions team to provide this support. The key components of the SAVE initiative are:
• A dedicated Expert Credit Solutions team to help advise, support and resolve debt problems for small businesses who are experiencing difficulty in repaying their energy bills
• Advice on how to reduce energy consumption via their dedicated account manager plus access to a tailored energy assessment (ESCO) based on a visit to their business by a trained energy assessor
• Energy Savers Packs: a pack of energy saving products including standby savers, energy saving light bulbs, radiator panels, and a Save the Worker Pack that includes posters, stickers and collateral to remind staff of the steps they can take to reduce their energy consumption, including switching off lights and machines when not in use - to help businesses encourage behaviour change amongst staff
• Use of a unique online assessment tool (Energy Saver's Report) to provide guidance on energy consumption reduction.
The research also revealed that only 36 % have taken steps to reduce energy consumption, which would help them reduce heating and power costs.
From 6 April 2009, all businesses will, for the first time, be able to get a free online audit of their energy consumption. As part of the SAVE initiative, organisations will be able to log on to https://britishgas.co.uk/BGB-EnergySaversReport/En...
and complete an Energy Saver's Report, which helps them to evaluate how much they are spending on energy annually and will benchmark their energy efficiency rating relative to other businesses of their size and type. The report offers hints and tips on ways to reduce consumption through both simple behaviour change and by investing in energy efficiency technologies.
Erica Russell, Business Link Adviser said: "Efficient use of energy is both environmentally good practice and also a simple and very effective way of cutting business costs, which is so essential in the current economic climate. Initiatives by the private sector to encourage energy efficiency and help businesses put this into practice are therefore welcome."
Kanat Emiroglu, Director of SME markets at British Gas Business, said: "We work with a lot of small businesses throughout the country, so we're pleased now to be able to provide helpful advice and support at a time when they really need it. Our small business customers can count on us to really listen to their circumstances and ultimately come to a resolution that works for each individual business. In addition, we've developed some tips on how organisations can become more energy efficient, which we hope will help small businesses weather the economic storm and emerge in better shape."
British Gas has already spoken to some of their small business customers including Barbara & David Dickson, owners of Byrnes Fish & Chips in Liverpool, which has been in their family for over 70 years. With all the economic changes and having bought their building, they were suddenly finding it difficult to keep up with bill payments. Barbara Dickson said: "British Gas Business helped us by lowering our monthly bill in order to make it more manageable while we sorted things out - and as a result we haven't missed a payment. But what really, really pleased me was that they listened to what I was saying and wanted to help make things work. I'm sure that the extended service that British Gas Business is launching will help other businesses to weather the economic storm, as who knows what will happen next."
Any British Gas Business customers having difficulty paying their energy bills should contact their British Gas account manager as soon as possible to discuss the situation and potential solutions. Assistance can take place in the form of specially negotiated extended repayment periods or even advice from specialist sources such as partner Money Advice Trust. The Expert Credit Team will listen to customers and provide support and solutions to keep their businesses running during this difficult period.
For further information on British Gas Business or SAVE, please log on to http://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/
About British Gas Business
British Gas Business offer a range of products and services tailored to the business market, including
_a href="http://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/products-and-services/business-electricity.html"_business electricity_/a_ and gas contracts, boiler and central heating services, an online business insurance comparison service, and a connections and metering service for new energy supplies, conversions and upgrades.
Customers can visit
_a href="http://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/"_British Gas Business_/a_ for further information.
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