Affinity Water rebrands business retail arm

Affinity Water has rebranded its business retail arm as ‘Affinity for Business’, ahead of water market opening in April next year.

The company has applied to Ofwat for a licence to provide water supply and wastewater services across England and Wales. It is the final incumbent water company to make its intentions known.

It is intended that Affinity for Business will become the retail supplier for customers in the Affinity Water regions via the Retail Exit mechanism. The new brand will be introduced to non-household customers in the Affinity Water supply area throughout the autumn.

Affinity Water chief executive Simon Cocks said: “At Affinity Water we are committed to establishing ourselves as the UK’s leading community-focused water company. A key component of this relates to how we support our business customers.

“I am delighted to announce the launch of the Affinity for Business brand as part of our preparation for the new market when it opens next year. The dedicated Affinity for Business team will continue to provide a high quality service to our business customers and support the communities we serve”.

Affinity for Business director Helen Gillett said: “The water industry is evolving, giving the option to all businesses to choose who supplies their water and waste water services from next April.

“I am delighted to lead the Affinity for Business team and believe our thorough understanding of the local communities in which our business customers operate, makes us uniquely placed for the future retail market.

“We have exciting plans for the new retail market which will enable us to deliver even better, high quality services that enable our customers to concentrate on their core business activities.”

Affinity said it would “continue to deliver reliable, high quality services that support long term relationships, providing tailored solutions that help businesses manage their water use, saving energy and money”.

From April 2017 all businesses customers, charities and public sector organisations will be able to choose their retailers for water and waste water services.

All of the incumbent water companies have now announced their plans, at least in the short-term.

The market opening story

So far, Portsmouth Water, Southern Water and Thames Water have announced plans to exit the market. Scottish retailer Castle Water will take on the business customers of Portsmouth and Thames, while Southern’s customers will be handed to Scottish incumbent supplier Business Stream.

Read Utility Week’s analysis – Thames Water quits business retail – here and Q&A with Thames chief financial officer Stuart Siddall here

The total number of companies to have applied for licences since Ofwat opened the process now stands at 17. The regulator has predicted as many as 40 new applications in the coming year. 

Scottish players Castle Water, Business Stream, Cobalt Water and Clear Business Water have all submitted applications to participate in the English market. As has water management firm Waterscan and commercial gas supplier subsidiary, Regent Water.

Read Utility Week’s Q&A with Business Stream chief executive Johanna Dow here

English incumbents which have applied for licences are: Northumbrian Water Business – which has rebranded as Wave – Pennon Water Services, Anglian Water Business, Sutton and East Surrey Water Services, South Staffordshire Water Business, Water 2 Business, and Kelda Retail – which has been incorporated into Kelda Group’s new retail arm Three Sixty.

Read the full Q&A with Three Sixty managing director Robert Marrill here

South East Water Choice has applied for a sewerage licence only, in order to provide its existing customers with a combined water and sewerage bill.

Severn Trent and United Utilities have also applied for their joint venture Water Plus, which was announced at the beginning of March. Chief executive Sue Amies-King told Utility Week that Water Plus would be “agile and innovative”, and bring in “fresh new ideas” from the new people being recruited.

Read the full Q&A with Amies-King here

Small Scottish supplier Everflow told Utility Week it is considering buying into the English market when it opens and will be applying for a licence soon. Veolia UK has also said it wants to grow its retail activities in the market, but has not yet applied for a licence.

New entrant Blue Business Water also told Utility Week it will apply for a licence before Ofwat’s deadline. Director Chris Clark stressed that it is keen to acquire the customer bases of companies looking to exit.