The firm claims brokers will favour its approach because they will be able to access quotes instantaneously, rather than wait for days. Sales director Steve Fitzsimons, formerly of Npower, British Gas and EDF Energy’s B2B units, said he had spoken to around 100 brokers prior to launch, which will have to sign a code of practice to do business with Hudson.
Fitzsimons said Hudson’s competitive advantage was down to simplicity. Other established providers are trying to do too much, he suggested. Fitzsimons would not commit to a market share target but said Hudson, which supplies some 150,000 B2B customers in North America, aimed to win a “few per cent” of the circa £20bn market. The business, offering initially electriicity and later gas, would quickly scale to seven or eight figures, he said.
Hudson is already looking at entering other European markets, and Fitzsimons said entering the UK domestic retail market was a possibility.