Prestonville Court Residents Association

"Thankfully we managed to get out of
the contract in time because the proposed rise in the unit rate would
have been a vast increase for us."

• Location: Brighton
• Sector: Property Management
• Saving: £2k

A Brighton property management company has found a green use for the money it saved in reducing its energy bills - by spending it on specialist tree services to preserve an historic 120-year-old elm.

Dr Roger Driscoll, Chairman of the Prestonville Court Residents Board, a small private estate of two blocks of flats, was shocked to discover that they were facing a 40% increase in electricity prices when he received the Association's electricity bill earlier this year. We'd been with the same supplier for a number of years and I couldn't believe how much they wanted to whack up the rate in these difficult times. As a small business we're looking to contain costs but I was really worried that we would have to raise the flats' service charges.

Dr Driscoll researched his options for business utility bills on the internet and found Make it Cheaper. We were looking at a massive rise from £4,000 a year to £5,600 but thanks to Make it Cheaper we've switched and our bill has dropped to £3,600. In fact because of the money we've saved on our electricity costs, we've been able to pay for a specialist tree surgeon to keep our fifteen conserved trees in good condition including two historic beeches and an elm tree that's over 120 years old and we're hoping to further improve the grounds for our residents.