Member Article

Cost saving initiative helps Chester businesses save £150,000

More than £150,000 has been cut from the annual running costs of Chester city centre businesses thanks to a collection of free services introduced by CH1ChesterBID.

A joint procurement initiative designed to help traders secure cheaper rates on energy, utilities and telecoms bills as well as waste disposal and other services was set up back in September 2014 when Chester’s Business Improvement District (BID) was first established.

So far, more than 20% of businesses in Chester’s BID area have signed up to the free service, which is offered as an exclusive benefit to BID member businesses.

“We’ve helped a significant number of businesses make huge savings on their running costs through this initiative and it’s fantastic to reach the £150,000 milestone,” said Peter Lewis, City Centre Manager at CH1ChesterBID.

“Operating a business in today’s economy is expensive but we’ve been able to provide our BID members with considerable savings on their running costs by working with approved suppliers. Money cut from our members’ overheads provides a boost to their profit margins and that’s great news for the overall health of our city centre economy.”

French restaurant La P’tite France on Bridge Street in Chester city centre is one of the CH1ChesterBID member businesses to have benefited from the initiative already.

The restaurant’s joint owner, Frédéric Lolliot, said: “I used the cost saving service very recently and found the whole process really simple. I wasn’t sure it would help me but my energy costs are now much lower and I’m also hoping to reduce some other bills too.

“As a business, it’s important to keep running costs as low as possible so I’m really pleased with the service. I’d encourage other CH1ChesterBID members to enquire about it too.”

More than 500 businesses are based within Chester’s BID area and the CH1ChesterBID team is hoping to introduce even more of its members to the service in 2016.

Peter Lewis added: “We still believe there are a number of businesses in the city centre paying more than they need to and we want to do everything we can to change that. We know that some businesses are put off by the thought of the time-consuming switching process but the services take care of everything from start to finish – it really couldn’t be simpler.

“Businesses have nothing to lose and plenty to gain from this no obligation initiative and that’s why we’re encouraging all of our members that haven’t spoken to us about this yet to get in touch and see if we can help.”

To find out more about the service, contact the CH1ChesterBID team directly on 01244 403680 or by visiting www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CH1ChesterBID .