National events production company
An events business wanted a single battery unit to cut diesel burn on site. Once we looked at how the generators were actually being run, the case for three units was far stronger than the case for one.
The background
The enquiry that came in was modest. One battery unit, priced up by a supplier, sitting in a folder waiting for a quiet month in the accounts.
Before talking about funding, we asked how the generators were being used across a season. The answer was the interesting part. Sets were running for hours on low load, burning fuel to keep a stage lit and a handful of welfare cabins warm.
The problem
Fuel was the second largest cost line on most events, and almost none of it was going into peak load.
Generators running continuously at low load meant servicing intervals arrived faster than the accountant expected.
Buying outright would have taken working capital out of the business in the middle of a season when deposits and crew costs were already stacked up.
How we looked at it
We looked at the run data across a full season rather than a single event, and split it into what genuinely needed a generator and what a battery could carry on its own.
That work showed one unit would cover a single stage, while three would let them run hybrid across a whole site and switch the sets off overnight.
We then wrote the funding proposal around the fuel and servicing savings, so the lender was reading an operating case, not just an equipment invoice.
The funding solution
Three battery power units funded together as one facility rather than as three separate decisions across three seasons.
A VAT only deposit, so the business kept its cash in the operation through the busiest trading months.
A four year term set against the run rate the units would realistically achieve, not a default finance period.
The outcome
The three units went into service together, which meant the saving landed in one season rather than being drip fed over three.
Generators now run to support peak load rather than idling through the night, and fuel and servicing costs dropped accordingly.
The business can now tender for work where low emission site power is part of the scoring, without a separate capital request each time.
What we funded
- Battery power units
- Distribution and connection kit
- Delivery and commissioning
Structure: VAT only deposit, 4 year term
