We speak with Jamie Shaw, CEO of Shawton Energy, a leader in delivering large-scale commercial solar energy solutions to businesses across various sectors.
With almost three decades of experience in the renewable energy industry, Shawton Energy has helped companies like DHL, Princes, and Hilton transition to greener, more sustainable energy solutions.
Here Jamie discusses how Shawton Energy blends its family-values heritage with the global expertise of Lazard Asset Management to drive renewable innovation and offers his unique perspective on sustainability, team culture, and the future of energy in the UK.
In 2023, the Newton-le-Willows-based company went into co-ownership with global financial advisory and asset management firm, Lazard Asset Management, to help accelerate fully funded solar photovoltaic (PV) projects for industrial and commercial clients across the UK.
As a result, Shawton Energy is a unique business that brings together a well-established, family-values company with a global investment firm.
From the initial design and planning stage, through to working with internal stakeholders, managing the permitting process, and installing solar PV systems, Shawton Energy offers its clients an end-to-end solar solution.
The organisation is aiming to deliver more than £100million of invested capital in high-quality solar projects over the next three years.
What is the main problem you solve for your customers?
We help UK businesses be more sustainable – reducing their carbon footprint and reaping the environmental, financial, and operational benefits of on-site solar energy generation.
For businesses committed to a greener future, we help them make the transition to clean, green energy in the form of commercial solar panels – rooftop or ground-mounted – making the most of their building’s footprint to maximise efficiency.
This, in turn, helps companies to not only reduce their carbon emissions but their energy bills, too – by up to 30%.
We also help companies to futureproof their energy supply and decrease their reliance upon the National Grid – protecting them from the market and price variability linked to this energy supply.
Finally, we believe that every business should be able to invest in sustainable energy infrastructure, so we aim to remove the financial barriers – offering fully funded solutions in the form of Power Purchase Agreements. This means there’s no capital outlay or ongoing operational expenditure, so doesn’t put pressure on organisations’ already squeezed budgets.
What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?
I originally took on Shawton’s engineering business – Shawton Engineering – that was established by my father.
This was jumping straight into the fire, as it saw me running a well-established business, with a team that had been in place for many years. I came in at a young age and had to prove that I could add value to the team as well as take the company to the next level.
As Shawton Engineering is a metal fabrication business and, at the time, was doing a lot of metal roofing projects, we then started to be asked to install solar along with our projects. As a result, we naturally transitioned into the energy sector, and that was how Shawton Energy was born.
When we first started in the energy space, there were lots of solar installers, but what we found was that no one was reallylistening to what the customer needed and what their businesses objectives were. So, when we set up Shawton Energy, we ensured this was central to our proposition.
Fast-forward to now, and we have over 200 employees within the Group, and Shawton Energy has a 30-strong team of knowledgeable renewable energy professionals, who are passionate about helping our customers to achieve greater sustainability and reduce their carbon emissions.
What are your brand values?
Our brand values are, knowledgeable, excellent, integral, collaborative, and genuine, and we apply these to every project we carry out, as well as every customer and employee interaction we have.
Customer collaboration is extremely important to us. We make it our mission to understand their business models and pain points – taking them on a solar-energy journey that’s genuinely tailored to their needs.
Being agile and entrepreneurial is also important in this fast-moving industry, and it’s how we provide excellence. Not only does the industry change, but customers’ needs do too, so being experienced and providing solution-based thinking is extremely important.
As we were originally a family business, it’s important to us to retain these deep-rooted values, as well as adopting the values and aspirations of Lazard Investments. There’s a truly collaborative environment that runs throughout our business, and it’s an exciting time to be a part of the Shawton Energy journey.
Do your values define your decision making process?
Absolutely. Carefully and quickly balancing the risks with the benefits is important to secure business and foster growth.
Our partner, Lazard, is a large business, but is able to match our speedy decision-making, which means we can deliver the best possible service to our clients.
Also, with all our processes and customer interactions, we always have the customer at the heart of our thought process. We understand what it’s like to be on their side of the fence, trying to obtain sign-off. We listen to what their needs are and take a balanced approach, which benefits all parties.
Is team culture integral to your business?
Team culture is the heartbeat of the business.
Our day-to-day business has been built around operating as a unit. This enables everyone to focus on what they’re good at – meaning we can be nimble and fast paced, so the customer gets exactly what they want, and they feel genuinely valued.
Also, every time we secure new business, it’s a team celebration as we all recognise that everyone adds something unique to every project.
What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?
I roll my sleeves up and get stuck in. As much as I have day-to-day tasks as my role as CEO, I like to be in the middle of it all – talking to customers, finding solutions, working with the team, and closing deals.
I think this lead-from-the-front approach helps to create a supportive environment, where everyone gets involved and works a united collective.
In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?
In the energy industry, and specifically renewable energy, I believe you absolutely have to speak directly and clearly to your customers.
It’s a complex topic – a minefield of acronyms, technicality and legislation – but, unfortunately, there are people out there who complicate things to justify their existence.
We aim to simplify it as much as possible, as we want to be long-term energy partners for our customers – not just a simple transaction.
For us, it’s important to know who we are talking to, too. Throughout the process of developing solar projects with clients, we often speak with up to 10 people within the business – across various departments including finance, facilities, operations and at board level.
We appreciate that each person will have a different understanding of the project, as well as questions and pain points that they want answering and resolving. Therefore, we tailor our messaging accordingly.
We add value and educate but also support and explain for all stakeholders.
Our departments are all aligned too, which ensures that the customer has all the information – that’s easy to digest – readily available, at any stage of their solar journey.
What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?
Ultimately, the projects we develop with our customers are fully funded. This means we put forward the capital and the ongoing operational costs, and the customer buys the energy from the project – at a much lower price than that off the Grid.
Therefore, we are careful to get a balance between a good return for our investors, but also a good energy price for our customers. If either is unbalanced, it simply doesn’t work. Cost of lending has also been high, but we’ve always been very balanced and that has worked for us.
How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?
A lot of what we do is continually assessed and measured. We are always looking to evaluate and adapt.
In the case of our sales function, we check we’re doing the right things and being efficient. Regarding our marketing spend, we frequently analyse to make sure we’re getting a good return on investment. And in relation to technology procurement, we ensure we’re getting good value from the manufacturers and make sure we’re competitive in the market.
It’s always important to assess the data and information to make sure we’re being the best we can for both ourselves and our customers.
Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?
Technology is a vital component of any modern business, and we make sure we have the best systems in place, to maximise efficiencies and deliver the best results for our clients. This sees us use state-of-the-art modelling software and drones to assess roofs and conduct site surveys.
We also practise what we preach and have solar PV panels installed on our roof – making our operations more sustainable and reducing our carbon footprint.
What is your attitude to your competitors?
Competition should always be welcomed. If you look at the requirement of renewable energy in the UK over the next 15 years, there’s so much opportunity out there for all of us – both independently and collaboratively.
As long as we’re supporting our customers and delivering high-quality and safe projects, then we hope to collaborate more with some of our competitors and work alongside them.
Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?
I can’t describe how important it is to make sure you have a great team of people around you.
Finding employees who are talented and knowledgeable about your area of business, and who are genuinely passionate about it, is vital – not only for creating long-standing relationships with customers but for creating a collaborative team culture, too.
It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?
Family is important to me. I have a wife and kids they keep me busy, but I also have a large wider family. I’m one of six children, and being the only boy means I have lots of sisters and nieces (and one nephew) to keep me entertained. Time with family is the best time.
Outside of the family and work spheres, Liverpool FC is my passion. I’m an avid supporter and season ticket holder.
Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?
The 12-week worth method is about short sprints and adding urgency to your business style.
We have been like this as a business for a long time, ensuring our goals are achievable but stretching – working collectively as a team to deliver on those sprints where we can.
However, with the nature of the industry we’re in – and the associated red tape – we understand that project goals can take longer. No matter what though, we still implement urgency on everything we do.
What is your company’s eco strategy?
As a renewable energy solutions business, we talk the talk, but we also want to make sure we walk the walk.
That’s why we have solar installed on our roof and enjoy 100% renewable energy ourselves. We’re so proud of our own install; we often invite prospective customers to our site to see it in-situ and in operation.
It certainly shows our customers that we genuinely believe in what we do and shows we’re as committed to our net zero ambitions as they are.
What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?
We have made massive strides in the last 12 months – expanding our business and the 50% acquisition by Lazard Investments.
However, we’re never ones to sit still, so we’re working hard on new propositions – including commercial batteries, and virtual Power Purchase Agreements. The latter is where large-demand businesses can come to us, and we’ll build a bespoke solar farm, dedicated to their usage elsewhere in the country.
We’re also delivering lots of large, high-profile solar projects for some well-known brands in the UK.
One of our recent projects saw us collaborate with logistics specialist, Knowles Logistics, to deliver a large-scale rooftop solar energy installation at a Wisbech distribution centre site – operated on behalf of international food and drink group, Princes.
We’re exceptionally busy, but we’ll continue to grow and capitalise on what is a large-demand market. We expect to be celebrating a lot as a team over the next 12 months.
