Verastar, has announced that Clear Business Water has been granted one of the first Water Supply and Sewerage Licences (WSSL) from OFWAT.
Verastar described itself as “uniquely placed to be able to offer water, gas, electricity, telecoms, broadband and mobile services all on one bill.”
The licence has been issued by the water sector regulator ahead of the April 2017 launch of an open water market in England, allowing businesses in England to choose their supplier of water services.
From 1st April 2017 when the open water market takes effect business customers will have the ability to choose for themselves who supplies them with water for the first time.
Clear Business Water has been providing business water services in Scotland since 2013 and has quickly grown to become the leading alternative supplier, with a market share approaching 20%.
Clear Business Water now holds licences for both Scotland and England and will be able to supply businesses seamlessly across both markets.
Manchester-based essential business service provider Verastar has been an active participant in the development of the Open Water programme, working with Defra, OFWAT and other industry members over the past two and a half years. Chief Commercial Officer, Nicola Smith was elected to sit on the Interim Code Panel and is part of the Assurance Group.
Nicola Smith, CCO of Verastar said:
“We are proud of the role we have played in working with the industry bodies to create a new, competitive marketplace for water services, which will bring choice to business customers in England for the first time. Verastar is uniquely placed to be able to offer water, gas, electricity, telecoms, broadband and mobile services all on one bill. We are making significant investments to allow us to extend our water service coverage from Scotland to England and are looking forward to delivering an even better value proposition to our customers with the addition of these services from next year.”
Verastar has been expanding its range of essential services for small businesses, and in addition to telecoms and utilities it began providing insurance and media services in July 2016 following the acquisition of The Insurance Octopus and The Media Octopus.
Chris Earle, CEO of Verastar added:
“Our sole focus is to provide essential business services to small businesses, combining value and great service so that our customers can concentrate on running their businesses. The ability to provide water services in England has been a missing piece in the jigsaw for Verastar, so we are delighted with this development.”
Verastar is the leading provider of essential business services to micro SMEs, providing telecoms, utilities and financial services to over 140,000 businesses across the UK. A next-generation services company for the small business market, the firm is aiming to be the supplier of choice for small businesses of all their essential, recurring services.