Utility Warehouse

Utility Warehouse (UW) is the UK’s only genuine multiservice provider. The company does not employ a traditional marketing strategy, but has instead grown its customer base through word of mouth via its Partner programme. The company currently serves 650,000 UK residents and is headquartered in London.

Company Overview

Utility Warehouse was established in 2002 as the main operating company of Telecom Plus. To encompass the company’s residential energy, telephone, and broadband offerings, UW has since expanded to include mobile phone and home insurance options, as well as a cashback card. Over the past two decades, it has built up a team of 45,000 self-employed distributors – or Authorised UW Partners – who recommend the company’s products and services to friends, family and people they know, who collectively take over 2 million essential home services.

History

In 1998, English telecommunications entrepreneur Charles Wigoder joined Telecom Plus. As he worked to get the company listed on the London Stock Exchange, he saw the opportunity to build a business that supplied communications and energy services to the mass residential market in the UK while pursuing a low-cost route to market via the UW Partner programme.

Today, Wigoder serves as Chairman of Utility Warehouse while Andrew Lindsay MBE serves as the company’s CEO. Lindsay, who was part of the gold-winning British rowing team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, worked for both Goldman Sachs and Ryness Electrical before joining Telecom Plus and UW in 2007.

Mission

UW’s mission is to help make its customers’ lives simpler by saving them time and money by bundling their home services together, as well as to help its Partners achieve their personal and financial goals. 

Offerings

Utility Warehouse offers:

• Broadband
• Landline
• Mobile services
• Gas
• Electricity
• Home insurance and boiler care services

UW aims to simplify the utilities experience by bundling multiple services into one simple, monthly bill, and customers can earn additional savings the more services they add on. For customers that bundle all of their services, the company will fund the planting of a tree on their behalf in the UW woodland, and provide up to £200 to help customers switch services over from other providers.

In addition to these home services, Utility Warehouse offers a cashback card for customers to earn as they spend. Customers can earn up to 7% cashback with over 2,000 partnered retailers, including Sainsbury's, Boots, Halfords, and M&S.

Partner Programme

Instead of implementing more traditional marketing methods, Utility Warehouse markets entirely through word of mouth. This is made possible by the company’s Partner programme, a group of over 45,000 Authorised UW Partners who work to recommend UW to family, friends, and other people in their networks. Utility Warehouse provides training, marketing materials, and support to Partners, who are able to work and earn income on their own schedules, earning up to £370 per new customer signed on. Partners can also grow within their roles and have the opportunity to manage a team of Partners.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UW Partner opportunity has taken on more importance as the company tries to help people get back on their feet by either topping up or replacing lost earnings.

Awards

Utility Warehouse has won dozens of awards since its founding. Over the past decade, it has received recognition from Which? as a Recommended Provider for broadband every year and currently is also Recommended Provider for Mobile Services. In 2018 and 2020, UW won the Which? Utilities Brand of the Year Award, which recognises the company as the best overall utilities provider in the market.

In addition to the significant recognition from Which?, Utility Warehouse has also received numerous awards from leading consumer champions, including Uswitch and Moneywise. The UW service has also been awarded five stars by Defaqto.

The UW Foundation

The UW Foundation was established in 2020 to help the environment, disadvantaged groups, and support the NHS in fighting coronavirus. Additionally, The UW Foundation also works with charities on fundraising initiatives with both Partners and employees, and matches every pound they raise.

By April 2021, The UW Foundation aimed to fund the planting of 100,000 new trees in a woodland the size of 70 Wembley pitches, on Bryn Arw in the Brecon Beacons. These trees were specially chosen as they are native broadleafs and will absorb 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

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