FACES OF 2024 Nicolas Gillanders, South Coast Insulation Services
WARMING TO HIS INDUSTRY, NICOLAS GILLANDERS IS ON THE ACQUISITION TRAIL In 2018, Nicolas Gillanders bought the company where he trained as a cavity wall and loft insulation installer. Now South Coast Insulation Services is on the acquisition trail. In May it bought the Gloucestershire-based Cotswold Energy Group. Today the Southampton business has profits of nearly £9 million and employs 220 people, working to improve energy efficiency in social housing and private properties across the UK. Nicolas is also designing and developing two eco-friendly, affordable homes in Hampshire and says that maintaining a consistent and forward-thinking UK energy efficiency policy is key to the country’s decarbonisation plans. Writing on the Open Access Government website, he urges the government to learn from past mistakes and seize new opportunities. “Green mortgages offer a significant opportunity for consumers to access energy-efficient upgrades affordably. With zero per cent interest options, homeowners can make upgrades without taking a hit in their monthly mortgage costs.”
There must be a data-driven approach to guide performance effectively, he says. “If this is done correctly, it can accelerate energy efficiency efforts, with quantitative data playing a pivotal role in shaping informed policy decisions and encouraging consumer adoption. Specifically, advocating for smart meter data to be publicly available is essential. With 20 million potential smart meters in the UK, the data can be leveraged to help the energy efficiency industry target properties that most need support.” Fostering cross-industry cooperation can act as a vital catalyst he says. The alignment of assessors, brokers/lenders, installers, and consumers throughout the retrofitting and energy efficiency installation process is important in effectively driving transformative change. “And instead of gradually introducing stricter PAS standards (PAS - Publicly Available Specification is a fast-track standardisation document) which could significantly impact the well-being of homeowners and occupants, we should instead implement measures that remove obstacles to the widespread and affordable adoption of energy-efficient upgrades.”
Illness gives Bal the time to dream up his business ambition When an injury left Bal Sandher bedridden for six months in 2008, the 22-year-old biomedical science graduate decided to fulfil a lifelong ambition of starting a business. “I had nothing but time, so I taught myself everything, from building a website to marketing,” he said. He sourced a popular hangover cure from Ireland and began selling it online. One product swiftly became 50 and Bal pivoted the business to become a contract manufacturer of sports supplements and nutrition. Nutra Direct is now a £20 million turnover business, manufacturing a wide range of supplements, with gummies, plant-based meat, and international expansion coming this year. In 2020 the company moved into new, purpose-built 40,000 sq ft premises in Rochester, Kent. Another 35,000 sq ft facility followed in 2022, with new manufacturing avenues such as Vitamin Gummies and Chocolates. Bal was recently named in LDC’s 50 Most Ambitious Business People of 2023.
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