Alternergy, one of the UK’s largest solar PV distributors, has been crowned top of the Investec Hot 100 thanks to its rapid growth in the burgeoning solar market.
The Investec Hot 100 is a ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK and analyses compounded annual growth rates measured over the past 4 years to determine the results. In order to qualify for the list, a company needs to have sales exceeding £10 million and EBITDA greater than £1 million.
Real Business, the publisher of the Hot 100 list said of the PV distribution company: “Alternergy is a rising star in the solar firmament. It’s one of the principal wholesale/distribution companies in the sector, and it is cannoning along at a compound average growth rate of 130 percent. If your house or office has solar panels on its roof, there’s a good chance that they were supplied through the Chiswick-based Alternergy.”
Rajiv Bhatia, Managing Director of Alternergy welcomed the news, saying: “This has been a real team effort. We have striven to provide quality products with a high level of customer service at an affordable price. Our corporate values of integrity and fun have remained at the core of our business.”
Bhatia launched the company in 2006 as a one-man outfit and operated successfully until the launch of the feed-in tariff saw demand for his company’s services explode. Currently, Alternergy employs over 22 full-time employees and is on-track to generate £50 million in turnover this year.
Speaking to Real Business, Bhatia was quick to criticise Government’s mishandling of the feed-in tariff and the subsequent boom and bust scenarios the industry had to endure. Speaking about the run in to the December 12 reference date, he said: “For just one month, we operated as a quarter-billion pound industry.”
On the future of the UK solar market, Bhatia expressed his uncertainty, stating: “We just don’t know what will happen. For a hard-charging company that is focused on building its market share, it is quite a pot-hole to hit.”
The crowning of Alternergy as the fastest-growing private company in the UK marks another success story for the UK solar market that, against-all-odds, installed over 1GW of capacity in just 12 months. However, issues surrounding Government’s support for the feed-in tariff scheme have severely dented Bhatia’s confidence: “I couldn’t tell you whether the market will grow, shrink, or stay the same.”