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The Carbon Trust is to help thousands of small and medium-sized property and construction firms drive down their costs by as much as £21m through a new programme - The Big Business Refit – set to launch in September this year, it was announced today.

The Big Business Refit will offer SMEs in the property and construction industry expert advice and financial support to slash their energy costs by scrapping old inefficient equipment and replacing it with new energy efficient models.

It follows a recession-driven surge in demand for the Carbon Trust’s interest-free business loans. In the first six months of 2009, hundreds of SMEs have been given loans at zero-interest to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology. As a result, property and construction firms are saving an average of over £15,000 each on their annual energy bills – a collective total of over 135,000 a year. 

Tom Delay, chief executive, the Carbon Trust, said: “Property and construction business owners are realising that for every month they ‘make do and mend’ with old inefficient equipment, they are wasting more cash on unnecessarily high energy bills.”

“With credit all but dried up elsewhere, the Big Business Refit breaks the deadlock by helping property and construction firms buy the equipment that will both slash their costs and often transform their businesses.”

Property and construction companies that want to take part in the Big Business Refit can get expert advice from the Carbon Trust by calling 01865 885879.

SMEs can also benefit from free energy saving assessments from a Carbon Trust expert and a tailored action plan that identifies the savings that could be made by replacing energy-guzzling equipment.

The Carbon Trust’s unsecured, interest-free loans can be used for equipment replacements costing between £3,000 and £400,000.  The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings, so that once the loan is repaid, savings go straight to bottom line.  With a total of £100m in loans available, the Big Business Refit is expected to help up to 1,400 UK property and construction SMEs to save a total of £21m off their annual energy costs.

Lighting, heating and air conditioning are essential for property and construction businesses.  Across all UK SMBs, the following energy savings have been achieved in the last six months by replacing this equipment, using Carbon Trust loans:

• New energy efficient lighting and lighting controls have provided UK businesses with annual savings of nearly £950,000.
• Energy efficient heating installations have provided annual savings to UK businesses of nearly £230,000.
• Air conditioning replacements have provided UK businesses with annual energy savings of over £60,000.

David Caro, FSB Energy & Environment Chairman, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: “The Carbon Trust’s interest free energy efficiency loans offer SMEs a chance to improve their bottom line as well as proving their green credentials.   These loans will help small businesses significantly cut their costs over the long term as well as helping them to play their part in moving towards a low carbon economy.”

Tom Delay added: “Businesses which replace old equipment now will be in a far better position come the end of the recession. Their cost base will be lower than their competitors and, with brand new equipment in place, they’ll be more efficient.”

Based in north London, serviced property company, Mastmead Ltd used a Carbon Trust loan of over £50,000 to help install double glazing throughout the building. Since the installation, the company’s energy bill, originally around £70,000 a year, has fallen by 28%, the loan is expected to pay for itself within two years.

Sharon Pines, Manager, Mastmead Ltd, said: “We badly need to get the roof done, and are definitely planning to approach the Carbon Trust again. The fact that the loan is interest-free is a huge attraction.”