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Sectors

Restaurants and food service

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Energy and utilities management for restaurants and food service

A restaurant group is usually many small supplies rather than a few large ones. Each unit has its own meters, contract end date and invoice, so cost is lost in volume rather than in one place. We start by building one register of every supply across the estate.

Refrigeration, cold rooms and extract carry on drawing after the last covers. Where a meter produces half-hourly data we set out what each unit uses when it is closed, so the conversation about reducing use starts from what the meter recorded.

Openings and closures are where bills go wrong. A new unit can start on a deemed rate and a unit handed back can keep billing. We hold the change of tenancy dates and check each invoice against the signed rate and the reading.

Day one

What we are usually handed

Where the load tends to hide at a restaurants and food service site, and where we fit once we see it.

  • Refrigeration and extract that never stop

    Cold rooms, display cabinets and extract carry on drawing when the kitchen is closed. Where the meter produces half-hourly data we set out what the overnight and closed-day load actually is before any measure is discussed.

    Where we fitWe read the overnight and closed-day load site by site and put it in writing before anything is recommended.

  • Units opening and closing

    A new site is often energised on a deemed rate, and a closed site can keep billing for months after the keys go back. We hold the supply numbers, capacity and change of tenancy dates for every unit in one register.

    Where we fitWe hold the supply numbers and change of tenancy dates in one register so a closed unit stops being billed.

  • Invoices in volume

    Many small invoices each month is where standing charges, estimated readings and duplicated charges go unnoticed. Each invoice is checked against the signed contract and the reading, and anything that does not reconcile is queried with the supplier.

    Where we fitEvery invoice is checked against the signed rates and readings, and queries are raised on your behalf.

What we do about it

  • Build one register of every supply, capacity and contract end date across the estate.

  • Read half-hourly data where it exists and set out closed-hours consumption unit by unit.

  • Check each invoice against the signed contract and query what does not reconcile.

  • Handle change of tenancy so a unit handed back stops being billed to the group.

Who we work withOperations directors, estates and finance teams, and area managers.

Simple steps

How to reduce energy use in restaurants and food service

Practical steps you can take yourself, from habits that cost nothing to decisions best made with metered data. Pick a stage, then open a step to see why it matters.

No cost, this week

Changes to habits and settings.

  1. Switch appliances on in the order prep and service need them rather than all at opening, so equipment is not left idling.

  2. Each opening lets warm air in for the compressor to remove. Plan stock runs to cut the number of openings and check strip curtains are complete.

  3. Add turning extract fans down or off after the last covers to the closing checklist. This cuts fan power and the heated air drawn out of the building.

Before anything is agreed

What happens next

If you send us the details below, we run a short suitability check before anything is agreed.

  1. Tell us the sector, the number of sites and what prompted the enquiry. Contract end dates and supply numbers help, but you do not need the full picture to start.

  2. We confirm whether the work matches what we do and whether we have capacity to take it on properly. If it does not, we say so.

  3. If it is suitable, we set out the work, the fee basis and the next steps in writing before any contract is signed.

  4. Every supply contract stays in your name. We operate under a Level 1 Letter of Authority only, which means we cannot sign contracts on your behalf.

Questions we are asked here

Yes. We hold every supply, capacity and contract end date in one register, and tender the supplies that can be grouped while keeping the rest on their own timetable.

The supplier needs the change of tenancy date and a closing reading. We record both, notify the supplier and check that billing stops.

Either by a margin applied to the final unit rate or by a fixed management fee. Whichever applies is agreed in writing before any contract is signed, and you sign every contract yourself.

Other settings

All sectors

Proof

What we have delivered, and who checks our work.

Each figure below is taken from our evidence record and has a full case study behind it.

  1. £206,000a year saved on procurement

    Read the case study: Michels and Taylor

  2. £161,000a year saved on gas, about £483,000 across a three-year term

    Read the case study: Broadening Choices for Older People

  3. Group rates10 per centlower than the previous brokered prices

    Read the case study: Roam

Checkable with the issuing body

All case studiesThe full evidence record

Tell us what you have been handed

Send us the latest full invoice for each meter and sign a Letter of Authority. We will complete a full review and feed back our findings and the available options.

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