7 years at the forefront of service and innovation | Castle Water
To celebrate Castle Water’s 7th anniversary, we take a look back over our journey so far, and reflect on the significant milestones and industry first’s that have shaped Castle Water into the UK’s leading independent water retailer, with more 5-star Trustpilot reviews than all other water retailers combined.
As we continue to grow, our commitment to be at the forefront of innovation in the UK water market remains, as does our focus on providing all our customers with market leading 5-star service, and to uphold the highest standards that our brand embraces.
2014 – Castle Water launches
In 2014, Castle Water was set up as an independent retailer, serving the Scottish non-household water market, with the aim of transforming how businesses buy water. This was in response to market deregulation which first took place in Scotland in 2008, when businesses, public sector and other organisations in Scotland were given the freedom to choose a business water retailer that suited their needs. Find out more about us here.
2016 – Major acquisitions
In 2016, Castle Water acquired the business customers of Portsmouth Water and Thames Water, successfully transferring over 350,000 customers. Today, we’re the UK’s leading independent business water retailer, supplying water services to hundreds of thousands of businesses, charities, and public bodies throughout England and Scotland. You can watch a short video on the open water market here.
2017 – CCS contract, Customer Conference and Save the Children partnership
£multi-million CCS contract
In March 2017, Castle Water announced that it had been appointed to the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework RM3790 for the provision of water and wastewater services to the public sector in England. Soon after the initial appointment to the framework, Castle Water secured its first major national contract through the CCS framework in November 2017. We continue to provide market-leading water services to the Public Sector, and most recently announced our second CCS framework appointment in October 2020.
First Annual Customer Conference
Castle Water hosted its first Annual Customer Conference in London in 2017. The event unites businesses with experts from Castle Water and the wider water industry, providing a unique forum to hear about the latest market updates and insights. Later in 2019, we launched our first customer Helpdesk event, inviting customers to meet with one of our expert advisors to ensure they are getting the most out of their account. We hope to resume our in-person customer events soon, and continue to ensure our customers receive timely, supportive, and clear communications about their account. We also continue to give free, practical advice to help our customers use less water to become more sustainable and reduce costs.
Partnership with Save the Children
In October 2017, Castle Water announced a new partnership with Save the Children to support Save the Children’s Emergency Fund. In the critical first few hours and long after the initial emergency, Castle Water and Save the Children make sure children can get the safe, clean drinking water they need to survive. The enduring partnership has seen Castle Water, our customers and our employees collectively donate hundreds of thousands of pounds to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund. Find out more about the partnership here.
2018 – Apprenticeship program and MyAccount
Launch of Apprenticeship Program
At Castle Water, we offer a varied range of training opportunities for our employees. From practical skills courses to professional qualifications and MBA Essentials courses, we strive to identify new training opportunities to ensure our customers receive the best service. Employment and the education of young people is an important focus for Castle Water, and in August 2018 we launched the Apprenticeship Program. As well as entering full-time employment with a growing business, our Apprentices are given the fantastic opportunity to earn as they learn. 95% of our Apprentices remain in the business post-qualification. We continue to run our Apprenticeship Program, and most recently welcomed 10 new Apprentices in September 2020.
MyAccount launch
Timely, supportive, and clear customer communications is of the utmost importance at Castle Water. That’s why we were delighted to launch our customer portal, MyAccount*, in 2018. MyAccount has everything you need to stay in control of your account and keep your bills up-to-date, all in one place. Our customers can submit meter readings, update their details, view bills and much more anywhere, anytime. We continue to invest in and improve MyAccount, so our customers can access more of their account information instantly online and avoid call waiting times. In March 2021, we announced a new account balance feature on MyAccount. The improvement means Castle Water customers can now check their water and wastewater account balances on MyAccount.
Register or log in to MyAccount here.
2019 – Castle Water blog and rebrand
Castle Water blog
At Castle Water, we give free, practical advice to help our customers use less water to become more sustainable and reduce costs. In January 2019, Castle Water launched its blog. The purpose of the blog is to provide engaging posts for our customers that contain helpful tips and advice on water efficiency, sustainability and cost reduction. Castle Water customers can use our free resources to engage with their staff and encourage cultural changes that result in less water being used daily. Download your free step-by-step water efficiency guide here.
Castle Water rebrand
As Castle Water grows, we’re always looking to enhance the way we communicate with our customers and stakeholders. In 2019, after months of planning, Castle Water revealed its new brand to the market. John Reynolds said of the announcement, “Our new brand embraces all that we stand for: independence, tenacity, industry leading expertise, transparency, high ethical standards, community engagement, investing in our people for success, and 5-star customer service.”
2020 – ISO certification, Trustpilot and merger
ISO 9001 certification
In January 2020, our commitment to industry leading expertise was recognised when Castle Water was awarded ISO 9001 certification. The internationally recognised standard reinforces our focus on delivering industry leading offers and services, measured against global benchmarks of industry excellence.
5,000 Trustpilot review
In February 2020, Castle Water received its 5,000th Trustpilot review. Today we are approaching a new milestone of 10,000 reviews. With more 5-star Trustpilot reviews than all other water retailers combined, Castle Water’s Trustpilot score remains at a strong 4.5 out of 5, with 91% of our customers giving Castle Water 4 or 5-stars in the period from January to March 2021. We continue to listen to all customer feedback and remain committed to improving our service offering to ensure our customers have everything they need to stay in control of their business water, keep bills up-to-date and costs down. Read our latest Customer Service update here.
Affinity for Business merger
In early 2020, Castle Water announced plans to merge with Affinity for Business (Retail) Limited, and by April 1st had started the process to transfer the water services of c.50,000 business customers throughout the UK. John Reynolds said of the merger, “Castle Water and Affinity for Business share a commitment to providing the highest levels of customer service, shown in the consistently high Trustpilot scores achieved by both organisations. This merger will improve customer service and reduce administration for customers. Following the merger, many Affinity for Business customers will benefit from having a single supplier for water and wastewater.”
2021 – Save the Children Partnership Award
In April 2021, Castle Water won Save the Children’s award for Outstanding Support for Children in Emergencies. The award was announced as part of Save the Children’s annual partnership awards, and presented by Save the Children CEO Kevin Watkins and Save the Children Ambassador Natasha Kaplinsky. We were pleased to also receive a nomination for The Jay Award for a Momentous Campaign or Initiative. John Reynolds said, “Everyone at Castle is really committed to supporting Save the Children – this is an important part of what we stand for as a company, and it is great to be able to play a role in helping children stay safe, healthy and learning in emergencies around the world.”
*MyAccount is currently unavailable to Scotland customers that do not have Consolidated Billing or Trade Effluent. Customers not eligible for MyAccount can use our quick online self-service buttons at the top of the homepage to pay a bill, submit a meter reading, or tell us they are moving premises.