Rygor Mercedes-Benz

As a company whose entire focus is on helping private and public sector organisations to implement energy efficiency and renewables projects, and having worked on a previous project with Rygor, Capitas Finance was ideally placed to assist the auto dealer with its latest ambitious plans. Having initially held discussions about a lighting upgrade at three sites with ageing and inadequate infrastructure – Westbury, Heathrow and Swindon – the scope of the project gradually expanded as the financial and environmental benefits of upgrading to LED lighting became clear.

Ultimately, Capitas Finance enabled Rygor to undertake lighting revamps at eight sites across the UK, including the three already mentioned as well as Chilcompton, Kidderminster, Newbury, Nuneaton and Oxford.

Throughout the upgrade Rygor was also able to benefit from the next generation lighting experience of Journey. Established to allow organisations to benefit from carefully tailored energy-efficient LED lighting with no upfront capex costs, Journey Energy Solutions (Journey) service-based model encompasses system design, installation and maintenance.

Ahead of the three-month installation process, it was already apparent that Rygor stood to make significant savings in its overall energy costs. Not to mention the fact that the old lighting was becoming increasingly challenging and expensive to replace, Rygor anticipates a reduction in annual carbon emissions of 980 tonnes and a remarkable cost saving of £366,062, over the term of the contract.

This could rise still further given the greatly reduced long-term maintenance requirements associated with LED lighting. But even in the short time since the installation took place there has been a marked drop in the quantity of repair work needing to be carried out and the amount of travel required by maintenance personnel. Moreover, the maintenance contract with Journey also means that internal technical resources can be deployed to other aspects of the retail estate.

There has also been a positive response to the new lighting from Rygor employees and visitors. As might be expected, the change at the sites with the oldest previous systems was most apparent, with personnel reporting huge improvements to the standard of illumination in spaces that had previously suffered from inadequate lighting. But across all sites there has been an ongoing commentary about the more consistent and sympathetic quality of the new LED-based systems.

Now that the project is complete, senior team members at Rygor have been reflecting on a scheme that has delivered all they had hoped – and much more.

Graham Drake, Group Finance Director, recalls:

“What initially started out as a project at three of our retail sites turned into a major lighting upgrade. And that’s all down to the case presented by the team at Capitas Finance. Once the potential benefits and savings were explored, it made sense for us to invest in modernising our dealerships. The whole process was hassle-free; everything was explained to us with no hidden costs or concerns.”

Meanwhile, the scale of the energy and carbon emission savings continues to impress the Rygor team.

“In financing this project, Capitas Finance is helping us take an important step forward towards our sustainability goals – the carbon reduction we’ll achieve is sizeable.”

Last word goes to Jim Pascoe, Operations Manager, who describes it as:

“An absolutely brilliant project and outcome – both in terms of financial savings over the long-term for the company, and more importantly, the excellent ambient light levels that are providing an improved workplace for our members of staff, customers and visitors. I’d recommend Capitas to anyone looking to improve their workplace lighting.”