BES Utilities

Last updated

BES Utilities/Ruby Energy
Company type Private
Industry Utilities
Founded2002 (Business Energy Solutions Ltd)
Headquarters
Fleetwood, Lancashire
,
United Kingdom
Key people
 Andy Pilley
Michelle Davidson
Products Commercial Electricity
Commercial Gas
Website www.besutilities.co.uk

BES Utilities/Ruby Energy is a UK-based, independently owned group of companies, comprising Business Energy Solutions Ltd and BES Commercial Electricity Ltd. [1] With offices based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, BES Utilities/Ruby Energy provides commercial electricity and gas to businesses across the United Kingdom. [2] In July 2024 BES announced it was re-branding itself to Ruby Energy from August 2024. [3]

Contents

History

Business Energy Solutions Ltd (trading as BES Commercial Gas) was established in 2002 and BES Commercial Electricity Ltd was established in 2009. BES Telecom Ltd was established in 2013 and subsequently sold in 2017. In November 2015, BES Utilities (as it was then) applied for a water services licence with the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. [4]

Company Growth

Since its formation, BES has grown to become one of the largest employers on the Fylde coast, with over 250 employees. BES Utilities was featured in the 2017 London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 companies to Inspire Britain report. [5] BES Utilities/Ruby Energy was amongst four companies within the North West credited with being the most dynamic and fastest-growing SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) in the country. In 2018 the company created an additional 50 new roles based at its Head Office in Fleetwood. [6]

It was revealed through the Andrew Pilley fraud trial that at least 86% of the contracts brokered to BES Utilities came through means of fraud, which was through a sham setup of 'independent brokers'. [7]

OFGEM Investigation

BES Utilities/Ruby Energy were investigated by Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), who found that BES failed to explain in sufficient detail customer contract details and, in some cases, wrongly blocked 108 customers from switching suppliers. The Ofgem investigation resulted in a fine of £2.00, with an agreed redress package of circa £980,000 paid by BES by way of a charitable donation to a debt advice charity and via compensation payments to a number of affected customers. [8]

In September 2023, it was announced that BES (now Ruby Energy) was once again under investigation by Ofgem, following the conviction and imprisonment of Andrew Pilley. [9]

In January 2018, BES Utilities settled a High Court case against two men, in which the company had alleged that they had made false claims about the company for three years. [10] [11]

In July 2017, BES Utilities commenced legal action against Trading Standards' prosecuting authority Cheshire West and Cheshire Council. The matter went to trial in November 2021, with Judgement handed down in August 2022 dismissing the entirety of the claims and finding serial dishonesty on behalf of BES, its Directors and Employees. [12]

Criminal Investigation and Fraud Trial

On 28 July 2016, BES offices were raided by Trading Standards as part of an investigation into mis-selling of contracts by purports independent brokers. BES subsequently launched a £8.6 million claim for damages against Cheshire West and Chester Trading Standards in 2017, which failed. [13]

In September 2021 owner Andrew Pilley was charged with fraud and money laundering offences made through BES. [14] The charges included two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors or others by allowing the fraudulent mis-selling of energy supply contracts, allowing fraudulent mis-selling by sales representatives, and being concerned with the retention of criminal property. [15]

Between 10 October 2022 and 19 May 2023, the criminal trial took place at Preston Crown Court. On May 19 2023, Pilley was unanimously convicted on all counts. [16] On July 4 2023, Pilley was sentenced to 13 years in jail.

Co-conspirators received other lengthy jail terms. [17] The co-conspirators included BES employee Joel Chapman (sentenced to 8 months imprisonment) who at the time was Head of Regulatory and Compliance; BES Director Michelle Davidson (sentenced to 6 year’s imprisonment); and Lee Qualter/Goulding who was the director of the sham ‘independent brokerages’ in reality controlled by BES and Pilley (sentenced to 7 years imprisonment). [18]

Charity, Community & Sponsorship

Fleetwood Town Football Club

BES Utilities is the main sponsor of Fleetwood Town Football Club , which is a professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the third incarnation of the club; it was first formed in 1908. The team compete in League One, the third tier of English football. Their home strip is red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts. The home ground is Highbury Stadium in Fleetwood, and the supporters are affectionately known as the Cod Army. The club won the 2011–12 Football Conference, and played in the Football League for the first time in its history in the 2012–13 season. In May 2014, at Wembley, Fleetwood won the promotion play-off to League One, the club's sixth promotion in 10 years.

Blackpool Illuminations

BES Utilities partnered with Blackpool Illuminations, an annual lights festival in Lancashire, to provide electricity for the lights for free in 2014 and at a discounted rate in 2015. The expected value of the deal exceeded £100,000, making BES the largest contributor to the lights in the last ten years. [19] [20]

Brian Rose

In 2018 BES Utilities, along with Fleetwood Town F.C. and Card Saver agreed to be the main sponsor of local championship boxer Brian Rose. [21]

The BES Fund

The Business Energy Solutions Fund is independently managed by a company called Charis Grants, who administer schemes for several leading energy and water companies. [22]

In 2015 BES wrote to all of its non-domestic customers in the flood-affected areas offering financial support in a bid to help those who have suffered damage to buildings and ruined stock. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ScottishPower</span> Scottish energy company

Scottish Power Limited, trading as ScottishPower, is a vertically integrated energy company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.

Centrica plc is a British multinational energy and services company with its headquarters in Windsor, Berkshire. Its principal activity is the supply of electricity and gas to consumers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of Gas and Electricity Markets</span> United Kingdom government non-ministerial department

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleetwood Town F.C.</span> Association football club in Fleetwood, England

Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Energy</span>

Good Energy Group PLC is a British energy company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire that provides services in the electrification of transport and decentralised renewable energy generation such as domestic solar panels. The company is also an energy retailer, and built a portfolio of wind and solar generation which was sold in 2022. Founded by Juliet Davenport, its CEO is Nigel Pocklington.

Utility Warehouse is a multiservice provider based in London, England that uses multi-level marketing to obtain customers through independent distributors. It is a brand name of its parent company, Telecom Plus. It currently handles approximately 1 million customer accounts. Utility Warehouse supplies customers with landline telephony, mobile telephony, broadband, gas, and electricity. The Utility Warehouse brand is the primary engine of revenue generation for Telecom Plus.

Fieldfisher LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in London. The firm has 26 offices located in countries around the world. It advises national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

OVO Energy Energy supply company based in Bristol, United Kingdom

OVO Energy is a major energy supplier based in Bristol, England.

Shell Energy Retail Limited was a British consumer gas, electricity and broadband provider. Formerly a subsidiary of Shell, the business was acquired by Octopus Energy in December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100Green</span> British sustainable energy company

100Green, operating as Green Energy (UK) Ltd, is a British independent-energy company based in Ware, Hertfordshire. It was established in 2001 by CEO Douglas Stewart. The company provides Ofgem-certified renewable electricity and green gas to domestic and business customers throughout Great Britain. It is currently the only energy supplier in the UK to offer 100% green gas.

Electricity North West Limited is a British electricity distribution network operator, responsible for the administration and maintenance of the network, that distributes electricity to much of North West England.

Co-op Energy is a membership-owned British energy supply company based in Warwick that began trading in 2010. It sells renewable electricity and gas to its ethically concerned member owner/customers and is an established large operator, an alternative to the Big Six energy suppliers. Constituting half or more of the Your Co-op Utilities division of its parent society Midcounties Co-operative, Co-op Energy is the only co-operative supplier in the British market, meaning supplied customers can voluntarily acquire an ownership share and thereby receive rights to influence the governance of the business, stand for election and have a say in formulating the products it offers.

The Big Six were the United Kingdom's largest retail suppliers of gas and electricity, who dominated the market following liberalisation in the late 1990s. By 2002, six companies – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, RWE npower, Scottish Power and SSE – had emerged from the 15 former incumbent monopoly suppliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solarplicity</span> Energy supply company in the United Kingdom

Solarplicity Energy Limited was a renewable energy company based in Hertfordshire, England. In August 2019 the company became the 13th energy supplier to collapse since 2018, affecting around 7,500 domestic and 500 business customers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Pilley</span> English businessman

Andrew James Pilley is an English businessman, convicted criminal, and former football club chairman. He was previously the chairman of EFL League One club Fleetwood Town and League of Ireland First Division side Waterford. Pilley was also the chairman of an independent commercial utility group BES Utilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spark Energy</span> Scottish energy supply company

Spark Energy was an electricity and gas supplier in the United Kingdom, established in 2007 and headquartered in Selkirk, Scottish Borders. Its operating company Spark Energy Supply Ltd entered administration in November 2018, and industry regulator Ofgem appointed OVO Energy to take over Spark Energy's 290,000 customer accounts; OVO continues to run Spark as a separate brand, but is in the process of migrating all its customers to the SSE brand.

Extra Energy Supply Ltd was an independent retail energy supplier based in Birmingham, England. It supplied gas and electricity to domestic and small business customers. Extra Energy was part of Extra Holding, which operates in industries including telecoms, travel, insurance and energy.

Jonathan Laidlaw KC is an English barrister notable for prosecuting and defending in many high-profile criminal cases, including defence of News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks who was acquitted of all charges after the phone hacking trial. In 2012 he was chosen by the Football Association to present their case against John Terry. On 31 May 2022, he applied to be admitted as a lawyer in Malaysia to serve as lead counsel for former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to appeal the latter's criminal convictions in Malaysia. The application was dismissed by the Malaysia High Court on July 21, 2022. He also unsuccessfully represented Andrew Pilley between 2022 and 2023 in his fraud trial. He graduated from the University of Hull with a law degree.

Utilita Energy is an electricity and gas supplier operating in the United Kingdom. Utilita began trading in 2003, specialising in pay-as-you-go metering.

The Fylde Coast derby is the name given to the regional football rivalry between the two Football League clubs situated in the Fylde Coast area of Lancashire – Blackpool and Fleetwood Town, first contested in 1980. Blackpool play at Bloomfield Road while Fleetwood play at Highbury Stadium, the two grounds separated by 8.5 miles (13.7 km).

References

  1. ↑ "Visit the BES Utilities website". BES Utilities.
  2. ↑ "Growing firm set to create 40 new jobs". Blackpool Gazette. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  3. ↑ https://0lly.uk/2024/07/15/ruby-energy-bes-utilities-new-name-scam/ [ bare URL ]
  4. ↑ "BES Water Application". BES Utilities. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "London Stock Exchange Group's 1000 companies to Inspire Britain".
  6. ↑ "Around 50 jobs up for grabs at Fylde Coast energy firm". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Andrew Pilley found guilty on four counts of fraud - National Trading Standards".
  8. ↑ "BES to pay £980,000 for failures in customer service following Ofgem investigation". Ofgem. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "Investigation into BES and its compliance with Gas and Electricity Supply Licences Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 7.3". Ofgem. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Energy firms run by Fleetwood Town chairman Andy Pilley sue for £8.6m over trading standards raids". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "BES Utilities goes after Trading Standards for £8.6m". theenergyst.com. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Bes Commercial Electricity Limited & Ors. V Cheshire West and Chester Council - Find case law".
  13. ↑ "BES Utilities goes after Trading Standards for £8.6m". theenergyst.com. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "Fleetwood Town owner Andy Pilley accused of fraud and money laundering and appears in court in Blackpool". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  15. ↑ Whitear, Sam (20 September 2021). "Fleetwood Town boss Andy Pilley denies charges of fraud at Preston Crown Court". Business Lancashire. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  16. ↑ "Andy Pilley: sentencing date set for Fleetwood Town FC chairman guilty of fraud". 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Andrew Pilley was sentenced at Preston Crown Court today". 4 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  18. ↑ Simms, Vanessa (4 July 2023). "Here is what Judge Graham Knowles had to say to Andy Pilley and his co-accused at Preston Crown Court". The Blackpool Gazette.
  19. ↑ "BES Utilities, 'The power behind the Lights and your business'".
  20. ↑ "BES Utilities the 'power behind the lights' for second successive year - News - Fleetwood Town". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  21. ↑ "'Dream Team' Rose and Rimmer reunite in bid for titles". BES Utilities. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  22. ↑ "The Business Energy Solutions Fund". BES Utilities. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "BES Utilities helps businesses hit by floods". Utility Week. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.