We communicate with Jamie Shaw, CEO of Shawton Power, a frontrunner in delivering large-scale industrial photo voltaic vitality options to companies throughout numerous sectors.
With nearly three a long time of expertise within the renewable vitality trade, Shawton Power has helped corporations like DHL, Princes, and Hilton transition to greener, extra sustainable vitality options.
Right here Jamie discusses how Shawton Power blends its family-values heritage with the worldwide experience of Lazard Asset Administration to drive renewable innovation and affords his distinctive perspective on sustainability, group tradition, and the way forward for vitality within the UK.
In 2023, the Newton-le-Willows-based firm went into co-ownership with world monetary advisory and asset administration agency, Lazard Asset Administration, to assist speed up absolutely funded photo voltaic photovoltaic (PV) tasks for industrial and industrial purchasers throughout the UK.
Consequently, Shawton Power is a novel enterprise that brings collectively a well-established, family-values firm with a world funding agency.
From the preliminary design and starting stage, by way of to working with inside stakeholders, managing the allowing course of, and putting in photo voltaic PV programs, Shawton Power affords its purchasers an end-to-end photo voltaic answer.
The organisation is aiming to ship greater than £100million of invested capital in high-quality photo voltaic tasks over the following three years.
What’s the foremost downside you remedy to your clients?
We assist UK companies be extra sustainable – decreasing their carbon footprint and reaping the environmental, monetary, and operational advantages of on-site photo voltaic vitality technology.
For companies dedicated to a greener future, we assist them make the transition to wash, inexperienced vitality within the type of industrial photo voltaic panels – rooftop or ground-mounted – taking advantage of their constructing’s footprint to maximise effectivity.
This, in flip, helps corporations to not solely cut back their carbon emissions however their vitality payments, too – by as much as 30%.
We additionally assist corporations to futureproof their vitality provide and reduce their reliance upon the Nationwide Grid – defending them from the market and worth variability linked to this vitality provide.
Lastly, we consider that each enterprise ought to have the ability to spend money on sustainable vitality infrastructure, so we intention to take away the monetary boundaries – providing absolutely funded options within the type of Energy Buy Agreements. This implies there’s no capital outlay or ongoing operational expenditure, so doesn’t put strain on organisations’ already squeezed budgets.
What made you begin your online business – did you wish to rock the established order, or was it a spot within the market that you may fill?
I initially took on Shawton’s engineering enterprise – Shawton Engineering – that was established by my father.
This was leaping straight into the fireplace, because it noticed me working a well-established enterprise, with a group that had been in place for a few years. I got here in at a younger age and needed to show that I may add worth to the group in addition to take the corporate to the following stage.
As Shawton Engineering is a metallic fabrication enterprise and, on the time, was doing a number of metallic roofing tasks, we then began to be requested to put in photo voltaic together with our tasks. Consequently, we naturally transitioned into the vitality sector, and that was how Shawton Power was born.
After we first began within the vitality house, there have been numerous photo voltaic installers, however what we discovered was that nobody was actuallylistening to what the client wanted and what their companies targets had been. So, once we arrange Shawton Power, we ensured this was central to our proposition.
Quick-forward to now, and we now have over 200 staff inside the Group, and Shawton Power has a 30-strong group of educated renewable vitality professionals, who’re obsessed with serving to our clients to attain larger sustainability and cut back their carbon emissions.
What are your model values?
Our model values are, educated, wonderful, integral, collaborative, and real, and we apply these to each challenge we feature out, in addition to each buyer and worker interplay we now have.
Buyer collaboration is extraordinarily essential to us. We make it our mission to know their enterprise fashions and ache factors – taking them on a solar-energy journey that’s genuinely tailor-made to their wants.
Being agile and entrepreneurial can be essential on this fast-moving trade, and it’s how we offer excellence. Not solely does the trade change, however clients’ wants do too, so being skilled and offering solution-based pondering is extraordinarily essential.
As we had been initially a household enterprise, it’s essential to us to retain these deep-rooted values, in addition to adopting the values and aspirations of Lazard Investments. There’s a really collaborative atmosphere that runs all through our enterprise, and it’s an thrilling time to be part of the Shawton Power journey.
Do your values outline your choice making course of?
Completely. Fastidiously and rapidly balancing the dangers with the advantages is essential to safe enterprise and foster progress.
Our associate, Lazard, is a big enterprise, however is ready to match our speedy decision-making, which suggests we will ship the absolute best service to our purchasers.
Additionally, with all our processes and buyer interactions, we at all times have the client on the coronary heart of our thought course of. We perceive what it’s prefer to be on their facet of the fence, attempting to acquire sign-off. We hearken to what their wants are and take a balanced strategy, which advantages all events.
Is group tradition integral to your online business?
Workforce tradition is the heartbeat of the enterprise.
Our day-to-day enterprise has been constructed round working as a unit. This permits everybody to deal with what they’re good at – that means we may be nimble and quick paced, so the client will get precisely what they need, and so they really feel genuinely valued.
Additionally, each time we safe new enterprise, it’s a group celebration as all of us recognise that everybody provides one thing distinctive to each challenge.
What do you do to go the additional mile to point out your group you respect them?
I roll my sleeves up and get caught in. As a lot as I’ve day-to-day duties as my function as CEO, I prefer to be in the course of all of it – speaking to clients, discovering options, working with the group, and shutting offers.
I believe this lead-from-the-front strategy helps to create a supportive atmosphere, the place everybody will get concerned and works a united collective.
By way of your messaging do you assume you discuss on to your shoppers in a transparent vogue?
Within the vitality trade, and particularly renewable vitality, I consider you completely have to talk straight and clearly to your clients.
It’s a fancy matter – a minefield of acronyms, technicality and laws – however, sadly, there are individuals on the market who complicate issues to justify their existence.
We intention to simplify it as a lot as doable, as we wish to be long-term vitality companions for our clients – not only a easy transaction.
For us, it’s essential to know who we’re speaking to, too. All through the method of growing photo voltaic tasks with purchasers, we regularly communicate with as much as 10 individuals inside the enterprise – throughout numerous departments together with finance, amenities, operations and at board stage.
We respect that every particular person may have a distinct understanding of the challenge, in addition to questions and ache factors that they need answering and resolving. Subsequently, we tailor our messaging accordingly.
We add worth and educate but in addition help and clarify for all stakeholders.
Our departments are all aligned too, which ensures that the client has all the data – that’s simple to digest – available, at any stage of their photo voltaic journey.
What’s your tackle inflation and rates of interest – are you going to go that on to your clients or let your margins take a success and reward buyer loyalty in these more durable instances?
Finally, the tasks we develop with our clients are absolutely funded. This implies we put ahead the capital and the continuing operational prices, and the client buys the vitality from the challenge – at a a lot lower cost than that off the Grid.
Subsequently, we’re cautious to get a steadiness between a very good return for our traders, but in addition a very good vitality worth for our clients. If both is unbalanced, it merely doesn’t work. Value of lending has additionally been excessive, however we’ve at all times been very balanced and that has labored for us.
How typically do you assess the information you pull in and deal with your KPIs and why?
Numerous what we do is frequently assessed and measured. We’re at all times seeking to consider and adapt.
Within the case of our gross sales perform, we examine we’re doing the correct issues and being environment friendly. Concerning our advertising spend, we ceaselessly analyse to ensure we’re getting a very good return on funding. And in relation to know-how procurement, we guarantee we’re getting good worth from the producers and ensure we’re aggressive out there.
It’s at all times essential to evaluate the information and knowledge to ensure we’re being the perfect we will for each ourselves and our clients.
Is tech taking part in a a lot bigger half in your day-to-day working of your organization?
Know-how is an important element of any trendy enterprise, and we be sure we now have the perfect programs in place, to maximise efficiencies and ship the perfect outcomes for our purchasers. This sees us use state-of-the-art modelling software program and drones to evaluate roofs and conduct web site surveys.
We additionally practise what we preach and have photo voltaic PV panels put in on our roof – making our operations extra sustainable and decreasing our carbon footprint.
What’s your angle to your opponents?
Competitors ought to at all times be welcomed. For those who have a look at the requirement of renewable vitality within the UK over the following 15 years, there’s a lot alternative on the market for all of us – each independently and collaboratively.
So long as we’re supporting our clients and delivering high-quality and secure tasks, then we hope to collaborate extra with a few of our opponents and work alongside them.
Do you have got any recommendation for anybody beginning out in enterprise?
I can’t describe how essential it’s to be sure you have a fantastic group of individuals round you.
Discovering staff who’re gifted and educated about your space of enterprise, and who’re genuinely obsessed with it, is important – not just for creating long-standing relationships with clients however for making a collaborative group tradition, too.
It may be a lonely and pressured place to be because the lead choice maker of the enterprise. What do you do to calm down, recharge and hone your focus?
Household is essential to me. I’ve a spouse and children they preserve me busy, however I even have a big wider household. I’m certainly one of six youngsters, and being the one boy means I’ve numerous sisters and nieces (and one nephew) to maintain me entertained. Time with household is the perfect time.
Exterior of the household and work spheres, Liverpool FC is my ardour. I’m an avid supporter and season ticket holder.
Do you consider within the 12 week work technique or do you make for much longer planning methods?
The 12-week price technique is about brief sprints and including urgency to your online business type.
We’ve been like this as a enterprise for a very long time, guaranteeing our targets are achievable however stretching – working collectively as a group to ship on these sprints the place we will.
Nonetheless, with the character of the trade we’re in – and the related pink tape – we perceive that challenge targets can take longer. It doesn’t matter what although, we nonetheless implement urgency on all the things we do.
What’s your organization’s eco technique?
As a renewable vitality options enterprise, we discuss the discuss, however we additionally wish to be sure we stroll the stroll.
That’s why we now have photo voltaic put in on our roof and revel in 100% renewable vitality ourselves. We’re so happy with our personal set up; we regularly invite potential clients to our web site to see it in-situ and in operation.
It definitely exhibits our clients that we genuinely consider in what we do and exhibits we’re as dedicated to our web zero ambitions as they’re.
What three issues do you hope to have in place inside the subsequent 12 months?
We’ve made large strides within the final 12 months – increasing our enterprise and the 50% acquisition by Lazard Investments.
Nonetheless, we’re by no means ones to sit down nonetheless, so we’re working arduous on new propositions – together with industrial batteries, and digital Energy Buy Agreements. The latter is the place large-demand companies can come to us, and we’ll construct a bespoke photo voltaic farm, devoted to their utilization elsewhere within the nation.
We’re additionally delivering numerous massive, high-profile photo voltaic tasks for some well-known manufacturers within the UK.
Considered one of our latest tasks noticed us collaborate with logistics specialist, Knowles Logistics, to ship a large-scale rooftop photo voltaic vitality set up at a Wisbech distribution centre web site – operated on behalf of worldwide foods and drinks group, Princes.
We’re exceptionally busy, however we’ll proceed to develop and capitalise on what’s a large-demand market. We anticipate to be celebrating lots as a group over the following 12 months.
