December 2009: Big Business Refit Helps Bristol Firms Flick the Switch on £35m a Year

Lord Mayor of Bristol launches scrappage scheme, urging bosses to ‘Refit, Reduce and Recover’

Bristol, UK, 3rd December 2009 – The Lord Mayor of Bristol today called on the city’s businesses to scrap outdated equipment and save millions on their energy bills. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Christopher Davies, was speaking at the Bristol launch of the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit which is giving out £100m in interest-free loans to help small and medium companies modernise their businesses and slash their energy costs in the process. He said:

“Bristol businesses could cut a staggering £35m off their annual energy bills simply by scrapping old energy-guzzling kit and replacing it with modern technology. The marvellous thing about the Big Business Refit is that it gives firms cash to improve their business at a time when credit from other sources is hard to find. I’d urge all Bristol businesses to find out if they’re eligible for the money, and to take their share now, before it runs out. With no interest to pay and no security required, it is a fantastic deal”.

As of this week, the maximum loan value has now been increased to £500,000, interest-free, which can be used to replace almost any old equipment from chip fryers to production lines. Heating, lighting, air compressors and manufacturing machinery are among the most popular choices.

One Bristol business that has already taken advantage of the Big Business Refit is vehicle collision repair firm,
WBC Automotive. The company is already seeing the financial benefits of replacing four old, inefficient booths with two state of the art double-size spray booths funded by an interest-free loan from the Carbon Trust.

David Turner, Owner and Managing Director of WBC Automotive comments:
“We’ve received a Carbon Trust loan of £98,000, to help replace four, inefficient spray booths. As a result of the new system, we’re saving nearly £40,000 a year on our energy bills. The new equipment also enabled us to provide a state of the art spraying method – which has also helped us to win a substantial new contract. The Carbon Trust loans scheme has been a simple and effective way for us to modernise our business, and reduce costs in the recession.”

Theo Paphitis, the business figurehead of The Big Business Refit described the interest-free loans scheme as, “a no brainer for business”, and Bristol firms have increased take-up of the loans fund six-fold since the funds become available in April 2009.

Most businesses that receive funding through the Big Business Refit find that the savings they make on energy bills more than cover the cost of repayments. Once the money is paid back, savings go straight onto the bottom line. Savings average £14,000 a year but can be as much as £130,000 a year, depending on the machinery replaced. Since spring this year, businesses in Bristol have slashed their energy bills by over £20,000, by replacing £60,000 of old equipment using the loans fund.

Ian Gibson, Solutions, Project Director, the Carbon Trust said:

“As one of the UK’s critical business areas, there’s a massive opportunity for Bristol to lead the take-up of the stimulus offered by the Big Business Refit. Encouragingly, enquiries about the loans scheme have risen by 250% in the last month – but a limited fund is available, so the race is on for businesses in the South West to take their share of the funding and save money.”

Funding from the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit is available on a first come, first served basis, and currently over 30% of the £100m fund has already been distributed. Advice on identifying and replacing inefficient equipment is also available.

For more information call the Carbon Trust on 01865 885879, or visit www.bigbusinessrefit.co.uk

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About the Energy Efficiency Loans scheme

The minimum loan size is £3,000, and the maximum size is £500,000. There are no arrangement fees and applying is straightforward. All loans are unsecured, interest-free and repayable over a period of up to four years.

Energy Efficiency loans are available to businesses meeting one, or both, of the following criteria:
• Companies that meet the EU definition of a small or medium-sized enterprise, i.e. companies with less than 250 employees and a turnover of less than €50m (around £42m at today’s exchange rate).
• Companies that are not eligible to participate in the Carbon Reduction Commitment, i.e. companies consuming less than 6,000MWh of half hourly metered electricity. This typically equates to an annual electricity spend of £500,000.

For more information please visit: www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans

About the Carbon Trust

• The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
• We cut carbon emissions now by giving business and the public sector expert advice, finance and accreditation to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services.
• Since 2001 we’ve helped UK business save over 23 million tonnes of CO2, and more than £1.4billion. We aim to help our customers, across the private and public sectors, to cut a further 17 million tonnes of CO2 in the next three years
• In 2008 alone the Carbon Trust supported half a million UK businesses, saving companies up to £227 million from their annual energy bills and cutting up to 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from their annual emissions.
• We cut future carbon emissions by developing new low carbon technologies through project funding and management, investment and collaboration. We also identify market failures and provide practical ways to overcome them
• We are helping the UK become a global hub for low carbon innovation. We do this through funding and managing projects, investing and collaborating on low carbon technologies and by identifying market barriers and practical ways to overcome them. Our work on commercialising new technologies will save over 24 million tonnes of carbon a year by 2050.
• The Carbon Trust is undertaking world leading projects in the offshore wind, marine energy, biomass, CHP, algae and advanced solar power sectors

For further information please contact:
Susie Loughnane or Emilie McGregor
01753 827294 or email loans@octopuscomms.net