Member Article

CH1ChesterBID scheme helps businesses save almost £50K

City centre businesses have cut their costs by almost £50,000 in the last two months, thanks to a joint procurement scheme set up by CH1ChesterBID Company.

Since Chester’s Business Improvement District (BID) launched on September 1st, businesses have been given access to a dedicated utility management team that can secure cheaper rates on bills such as water, energy and telecoms, and handle the time-consuming switching process.

Twenty-four businesses in Chester’s designated BID area have already signed up to the free service and have reduced their outgoings by an average of around £2,000 to date.

CH1ChesterBID Chairman, Paul Daniels, said: “One of our five key initiatives is to help city centre businesses save money and we promised to deliver a group procurement and discount scheme that would help them reduce their costs. We have already started to deliver on this promise and the service is clearly helping to improve our members’ bottom lines, having delivered cost savings of almost £50,000 in two months.”

Around five per cent of BID businesses are already benefitting from the scheme, with a further 50 in consultation with InVEW – the utility management company running the service – meaning the potential savings of the businesses on board could soon rise to £100,000.

QualitySolicitors Oliver & Co is one of the businesses to have used the service already. Kay Cook, a Director at the company, said: “It really is a fantastic scheme. The whole process was simple and I didn’t realise how much we could actually save by switching.

“I’d urge everyone in the BID area to contact the BID team and see if they can cut their costs too. The service is free so there’s nothing to lose and lots to gain, because anything we can do to reduce our overheads is good for the long-term future of our businesses.”

With 509 eligible businesses operating in the Chester BID area, there are still many others yet to take advantage of the utility management service.

Paul added: “Our progress so far is just the tip of the iceberg - we will increase the benefits of our group procurement and discount scheme and continue to ensure that every BID business has the opportunity to benefit from it.

“Ensuring our city centre businesses keep their operating costs as low as possible will improve profit margins across the city and help us revitalise our high street for years to come.”

Businesses within the Chester BID area can out more about the service by contacting the BID team directly on 01244 403680 or visiting www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elle Brunton .