Whitbread becomes its own water supplier
The UK’s largest hotel, restaurant and coffee shop operator, Whitbread, will supply its own water and wastewater services. It has been granted a self-supply licence by economic regulator Ofwat following the opening up of the water retail market earlier in 2017.
Whitbread can now self-supply and manage its own water retail services, cutting out the need for the company to use a separate retailer. Whitbread senior procurement manager, Sean Lavis said: “Self-supply will enable us to build on the efficiency works already undertaken, whilst driving cost and consumption control in the next phase of our water management strategy.”
The new open water market is the largest of its kind in the world, and allows businesses, public bodies and charities to select the best retailer for water and wastewater services. Eligible businesses can, like Whitbread, also apply for a self-supply licence so that they can supply their own water services to their premises, including meter readings.
Read our News Analysis for more on the open water market and its implications for building services.
