Calculus Capital, the EIS and VCT specialist, has invested £3m in Open Energy Market, an online platform that helps companies secure the best deal with energy suppliers.
It works by businesses providing details of their usage for all major suppliers to submit bids for the contracts through a live reverse auction process.
Dairy Crest, EasyJet, Southampton Football Club and London Business School are among more than 200 businesses and organisations that have used the Open Energy Market platform to find contracts with suppliers.
Investment Director of Calculus Capital Alexandra Lindsay said: “The corporate energy market is worth £20 billion a year and, according to Ofgem, around 85% of contracts are signed through a broker, but traditionally it’s been a rather laborious procedure.
“What the team at Open Energy Market have done is to streamline that process, because all the major suppliers are there on a single platform bidding for a company’s business.
“The service is designed to give companies greater transparency about their annual utility costs before they sign a contract.
“Our investment will help them strengthen their sales and software teams, expand their platform to cover additional fuels and waste services and make a move into the US market.
“We believe this is an exciting phase in the development of a company with strong growth potential.”
Chief Executive of Open Energy Market Chris Maclean said: “It is an exciting time for OEM. With Calculus Capital as an investor we can expand our offering within the commercial utility space and look to move into the US market. The expertise of the Calculus team in advising and guiding growing companies will be really valuable to us.”
Launched in 2013, the Open Energy Market is based in Surbiton, London, and is available for medium to large companies.
