Utility Warehouse, which is owned by Telecom Plus (TEP), operates in the essential home services market in the United Kingdom. As the only multiservice utility provider in the country to offer customers energy, broadband, mobile and insurance, Utility Warehouse serves a growing customer base of more than 800,000 households.
This growth has resulted in Utility Warehouse being honored as a DSN Bravo International Growth Award winner for the service sector. This is awarded to the international direct selling company with the highest revenue growth year-over-year in both product and service categories.
Bundling services is Utility Warehouse’s key differentiator and allows customers to save time and money by collating many services into one single monthly bill, removing the hassle of multiple accounts, passwords and interactions with providers.
This wide-reaching impact is a sharp contrast from the company’s humble beginnings. Founded in 1996 as Telecom Plus, the company originally operated from a pub in Henley-on-Thames just outside London. In 1997, it launched its flagship product, the Smart Box, which plugged into phone sockets and routed calls to networks at a cheaper rate. In 2002, the company founded Utility Warehouse to also cover its energy, broadband and telephone services.
The company continued to expand in popularity and growth and was soon listed on the London Stock Exchange and became a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Record Year of Growth
In the financial year 2023, customer numbers increased by 157,000 to 887,000 and service numbers by 533,000 to 2.8 million. This growth was achieved organically and is a noteworthy accomplishment in and of itself. But this advancement is all the more astonishing, considering this growth happened in only one country. Today, the company ranks 10th on the DSN Global 100 list.
Expanding Savings and Reducing Impact
The company’s philanthropic efforts are led by the UW Foundation, which plants a tree on behalf of every customer who signs up to take advantage of all the company’s service offerings. So far, the company has planted more than 117,500 trees, a feat the company describes in British terms as the equivalent area of 73 Wembley Stadium pitches and is an investment over time that has helped absorb more than 32,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
This philanthropic focus has also led the company to match all money raised for disadvantaged communities close to its offices in London, Bolton and Bournemouth, as well as offer a Warm Home Discount to vulnerable customers and sign language services for the hearing impaired.
Utility Warehouse has also expanded its savings opportunities for customers with the UW Cashback Card, which offers customers up to 10 percent cashback when they use the card through the program’s participating retailers and one percent on all other expenditures when they subscribe to all their services through UW. Cashback earned is then applied as credit to the customer’s UW bill. More than 300,000 cardholders have already signed up to save through this program.
“We live in a world where the nine-to-five job is no longer the norm and more people are looking for ways to top up their salary; find more flexible ways of working; and beat the cost-of-living crisis,” said Andrew Lindsay, Utility Warehouse Co-CEO. “Up and down the UK, more and more people are turning to side hustles and second jobs to make ends meet, learn new skills and pursue their passions. At Utility Warehouse, we have long believed in the power of entrepreneurship and helping people get on in life. More than 25 years ago, we launched our unique word-of-mouth partner model and since then, it has enabled tens of thousands of people to start their own business and earn a second income around their main job, other commitments or the school run.”
DSN congratulates Utility Warehouse on its phenomenal year and Bravo International Growth award.
From the June 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
