Specialist utilities provider Glides into London
Energy and telecommunications company Glide – who provides an inclusive one bill solution to landlords in the house share market – has expanded into London.
Glide's 'multisite' service provides one bill for all utilities – including broadband and TV licensing – to landlords, letting agents and property investors with multiple properties; account information is accessible online 24/7 and the landlord is presented with one simple bill which details billing across their entire portfolio.
The major benefit of this service is it gives landlords and agents the perfect platform for collecting rents inclusive of bills; taking the hassle out of collecting separate bills and giving property owners more time to develop their core business.
"One of the biggest difficulties for landlords is managing their tenants' utility bills," explains James Villarreal, CEO at Glide: "The service we offer puts an end to what can be a nightmare. There’s no more dealing with multiple providers, long call queues and broken promises. There are no more unpaid bills and fewer defaulting tenants.
"We can fix tariffs for up to three years with costs spread across the year, if that's what landlords want. The service allows landlords to offer bills-inclusive rents with confidence and so attract more tenants."
James, who founded Glide in 2006 with business partner Sandeep Krishan, adds: "There isn't another energy and telecoms company in the UK that specialises in looking after property owners like we do; one itemised bill for all services, properties and tenants. We make managing and collecting household bills easy and hassle-free for both landlords and tenants.
"We have clients across the country and have now expanded into London, where there is a vast market of rental properties. Our dedicated account managers will initially work face to face with clients to take away one of the biggest admin headaches landlords have to deal with; our service allows them to concentrate on building their core business."
The company already has 15,000 customers across the UK with landlords, letting agents and property investors ranging from those with a single property to pension funds with large property portfolios.
For more information on the service visit www.glide.uk.com or call 0333 666 5555.
Posted by Glide on 09/05/2011
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Glide raises development capital to fund its ambitious growth plans
Sandeep Krishan, James Villarreal and Charles Cattaneo are streets ahead after raising £735k of development capital for Glide
Birmingham based Glide, an energy and telecommunications company specialising in supplying tenants, landlords, letting agents and property developers in the UK, has successfully completed raising a further £735,000 of development capital funding from private investors. Glide, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, currently employs 25 people and has ambitious plans to grow. The new funding is being used to grow Glide's sales and operations teams in order to accelerate its expansion into major cities across the UK, including London, which up until now, Glide hasn't specifically targeted.
Glide's service offering enables landlords to manage utilities such as electricity, water and gas across their property portfolios by providing one bill covering all of their properties. Bills are itemised by service and property, which is particularly beneficial where landlords provide rent inclusive of bills and need to be able to monitor usage across their portfolios. This significantly reduces the administrative burden on landlords, allowing them to concentrate on other, more important, aspects of their business.
In shared accommodation, Glide's services simplify the process of splitting bills between tenants by providing each tenant with one simple itemised bill. Each tenant is only responsible for their share and this helps to avoid household arguments and chasing friends for money. Services provided include gas, electricity, water, broadband, telephones and TV licences.
Glide was founded in 2006 by Midlands' entrepreneurs James Villarreal and Sandeep Krishan whilst they were still at the University of Birmingham and in 2007 Glide raised an initial tranche of development capital which enabled the business to develop its back office systems and start the roll out of the concept.
Commenting on the fundraising James Villarreal, CEO of Glide said: "Since raising the initial development capital in 2007 we have been on a steep, and sometimes very challenging, growth curve.
"We have learnt a huge amount and now, having successfully rolled out the business nationally, we are really excited about accelerating Glide's expansion into more major cities."
Sandeep Krishan, COO of Glide said: "We have worked with local advisers and investors to secure the development capital funding and look forward to working with our new investors to secure the continued success of Glide."
Charles Cattaneo said: "Despite the tough current market conditions, investors still have the appetite to invest in good high-growth businesses with quality management teams."
Glide was advised on the development capital fund raising by a team of Birmingham based advisers Charles Cattaneo and Stephen Bishop of Cattaneo LLP (corporate finance), Rick Smyth, Ateeq Ahmed and Leanne Fryer of Harvey Ingram LLP (legal advice) and Alan Wells of Grant Thornton UK LLP (tax advice).
Posted by Glide on 06/05/2011
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Glide chooses Big Cat for social media drive
Birmingham based marketing consultancy, Big Cat Group has been appointed by utility supplier Glide to run a social media campaign aimed at students living in shared accommodation. The agency has been engaged by Glide founder and CEO James Villarreal to deliver a brand building campaign. Glide divides household bills for those living in shared accommodation ensuring they only pay what they owe.
The campaign will run through the final University semester, targeting students who are looking into accommodation for the following year. Anthony Tattum, managing director of Big Cat Group said: "The past few years have seen Glide move from strength to strength, monopolising on a market which has gone untouched for so many years. Big Cat has been brought in to assist in raising brand awareness through social media, an area which we have built considerable experience in over the years." Mr Villarreal of Glide said: "With a new brand and website launching imminently and a clear new focus, we felt it an opportune time to push our brand through additional platforms such as social media."
Posted by Glide on 04/05/2011
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