Plus Shops Ltd

Plus Shops Ltd is a privately owned shopping centre management company. To date they have managed seven properties, all of which are shopping centres and include Hart Shopping Centre in Fleet and Kennet Shopping Centre in Newbury.

Case Study:

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Left to right: Caroleanne Baker and Margo Goodall of Plus Shops; and Chris Baker, Auditel Consultant

In mid 2006, Margo Goodall the Retail and Marketing Executive for Plus Shops Ltd., and Mag Williams, Centre Manager, called upon the expertise of Auditel consultant Chris Baker to review Kennet Shopping Centre’s essential overheads. Escalating electricity costs and service received from brokers in the past had prompted Margo to seek assistance on the renewal of their utility contracts.

Chris’ first priority was to analyse the centres spend on electricity and tender to the market for alternative suppliers. Of the four electricity supplies to the Kennet Shopping Centre, three were moved to more competitive contracts with alternative suppliers. Furthermore in reducing the sites Available Supply Capacity and finding the Centre’s optimum electrical supply levels, the total spend in this area was condensed by 36%, also meaning that there is no more wastage through over capacity.

Having made substantial savings on their electrical spend, Chris switched his attention to the Shopping Centre’s spend on telecommunications and waste. After completing an analysis and tendering process, proposals were put forward to the Centre which would save 19% on their incumbent suppliers fixed line communications charges and by recycling their cardboard waste Chris could reduce their spend in this area by 83%. Water & Sewerage costs are currently being investigated for Kennet Shopping. Mag Williams, Centre Manager at Kennet Shopping said: “I have been very impressed with the dedicated service we have received from Chris Baker of Auditel. Often, once you are ‘on the hook’, you’re left alone, Chris has continued to look after us“.

Having seen the impressive savings achieved for Kennet Shopping Centre, Margo was keen to find out what could be done for Hart Shopping Centre in Fleet. Analysis of the Centre’s electricity expenditure highlighted that Hart had been incorrectly billed for a long period of time and were due a substantial refund of £48,000, which Chris duly implemented. Through negotiations with the supplier Chris also managed to achieve a further payment of £1,500 from the supplier for compensation for the incorrect billing. By discovering this billing error and then organising a change of supplier, ongoing annual savings of £74,700 or 69% were also identified. Caroleanne Baker of Hart Shopping commented “Chris’ expertise and professionalism shone through and the reduction in our energy bills was fantastic. The refund he achieved was unexpected and gratefully received!”

Not only have the savings been important to Plus Shops but a major benefit of the relationship with Auditel is being able to call on Chris’ experience, specifically his expertise in the energy market, on an ongoing basis. Chris has become an important adviser to the Plus Shops management team, working closely with Margo and her colleagues to oversee the ongoing management of the essential services overheads of Hart and Kennet Shopping Centres. Furthermore discussions are now taking place to possibly roll-out the Auditel services to the five remaining shopping centres and Auditel has recently began to look at energy costs at Hammersmith Broadway Shopping Centre in London. Margo Goodall of Plus Shops added “We have found Chris to be very quick and responsive to our queries. More importantly within the first six months of working together he has made substantial savings.”

Savings Achieved:

Kennet Shopping Centre:
£2,172 (22%) Savings for Electricity Supply
£1,179 (36%) Savings for Electricity available capacity
£424 (19%) Savings for Fixed Line Calls
£2,280 (83%) Savings for Waste Management

Hart Shopping Centre:
£48,000 Electricity Refund
£1,500 Incorrect billing compensation
£74,700 (69%) Savings on Electricity Supply per annum

Total Annual Savings £82,255
(Plus additional £48,000 Electricity Refund)

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