Case Study: Signature Flatbreads

Staying ahead of the markets

This decade has proven more than ever how vital a strategic approach is to your energy procurement. Prices have fluctuated wildly in a short space of time, from record lows in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic to the highs caused by the Ukraine invasion only two years later. It’s meant that delivering budget certainty while saving money has been increasingly difficult.

This has been compounded by high inflation, with increased costs across supply chains harder for businesses to absorb. Managing to insulate your business from the impact of sky-high energy rates often results in a competitive advantage, something Signature’s strategic planning managed to gain.

After renewing their gas supply contract from September 2020 to January 2025 and setting a trading strategy with Trident, Signature locked 50% of their gas volume until January 2025 at 1.2 and 1.7p/kWh in October 2020. Further volume was then taken in August 2021. Doing so helped Signature avoid the huge surges in prices, with market rates peaking at 15p/kWh during that period. This led to a percentage saving of 54% across their gas costs, £4.7m less than the market prices during the period.

These savings were continued with electricity, where significant volume was fixed until the end of 2023 at 4-8p/kWh. The price during this period reached as high as 80p/kWh, ensuring Signature saved £5.35m in total on their electricity charges against closing prices for the periods throughout.