DIY tender or use a broker? A practical comparison for UK businesses
Some businesses tender their own energy successfully; most don't. Here's an honest look at what a broker adds — and where DIY makes sense.
What a broker brings
The core value is panel access and process. A broker sends the same tender to every relevant supplier and returns a like-for-like comparison — same start date, same term, same green content, same billing terms. That's usually the difference between one quote and eight, and between a headline unit rate and a true delivered cost.
What DIY works for
DIY tendering can work well for micro-businesses on a single small meter (where the price difference across suppliers is narrow), for procurement teams with existing supplier relationships and a genuine tendering function, and for organisations required to run their own formal procurement (e.g. certain public bodies).
The hidden cost of DIY at scale
For multi-site or HH-metered businesses, DIY tendering is a real time cost: chasing supplier quotes, normalising formats, managing objections, running renewals. That time is rarely free, and the visible broker uplift often turns out to be less than the internal cost — before considering the price difference from panel competition.
A middle path
Some businesses use a broker for the tender and comparison but retain their own account manager for supplier day-to-day. Others rotate brokers every 2-3 years to keep panel competition sharp. Both are legitimate — the best outcome is one where uplift is transparent, competition is real, and you can defend the choice to the CFO.
Ready to save?
Compare business energy prices now
Free, no-obligation quotes from our UK panel in under 60 seconds.
Get my free quote