Pelican Business Services

What Pelican Business Services does

Pelican Business Services (legal name: Bristol Wessex Billing Services Limited) is a UK business process outsourcing provider founded in 2001 and headquartered in Nailsea near Bristol. It was established as an equally-owned joint venture between Bristol Water (trading name of South West Water Limited) and Wessex Water Limited to consolidate their metering, billing, collections, and non-operational customer service functions, and now also serves water2business as a downstream retailer client. Operationally it runs four interconnected service lines — meter reading, billing, collections and debt management, and customer experience management — supporting meter reading across approximately 2.5 million customer properties and billing interactions for around 4 million end-customers in aggregate across the South West of England. Headcount stands at over 250 employees based primarily at the Pelican Towers headquarters, which is currently undergoing refurbishment.

The technology stack is described in functional rather than architectural terms: cloud-based storage and integrated business-service systems underpin meter reading route planning, billing, and customer relationship management, but no proprietary software products, APIs, AI/ML capability, or technology platform is documented. Distribution is exclusively direct B2B, with revenue generated through long-term service contracts negotiated individually with water-utility clients. The go-to-market motion relies on the structural embeddedness of the two JV parents and incremental business development targeting other UK water and wastewater management companies. Pelican's positioning rests on people-led customer service — evidenced by Trustpilot 4.61/5, multiple Ofwat C-MeX top-three placements for its parent utilities in 2024/25, and a sustained run of regional contact-centre and workplace-culture awards — rather than on technology differentiation. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and no external funding, M&A, or ownership changes are indicated.

Name

Pelican Business Services

Legal name

Bristol Wessex Billing Services Limited

Website

https://pelican.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Pelican Business Services is a UK BPO joint venture of Bristol Water and Wessex Water providing meter reading, billing, collections, and customer experience services to water utilities across South West England, employing 250+ people from its Nailsea headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Utility Business Process Outsourcing

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Order-to-Cash (O2C) Operations (Order Admin, Credit, Invoicing, Collections Handoff) (BPAAAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Self-Service & Customer Portals (web/mobile, e-bill, notifications, consumption dashboards) (EUANAIAI)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Meter reading services
• Billing and collections
• Business process outsourcing
• Customer experience management

Headquarters

HQ city

Nailsea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Business Process Outsourcing: Pelican provides outsourced business services including meter reading, billing, and collections to water utilities. The company was established by Bristol Water and Wessex Water to manage their metering, billing, and collection operations, serving as the point of contact for non-operational customer enquiries. Revenue is generated through service contracts with water companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pelican Business Services is an integrated business process outsourcing provider to water utilities, delivering field-based meter reading, accurate and timely billing, collections and debt management, and end-to-end customer experience management across multiple contact channels. Established in 2001 as a joint venture by Bristol Water and Wessex Water, the company serves approximately 2.5 million customer accounts across the South West of England and supports retailer clients such as water2business.

Product overview

Pelican Business Services operates as an integrated business services provider offering a unified portfolio of services to water utilities. The core offering consists of four interconnected service lines: Meter Reading Services (field-based meter reading with optimized routing for 2.5 million customers), Billing Services (accurate and timely billing with consolidated multi-site billing for businesses), Collections and Debt Management (integrated debt management solutions), and Customer Experience Management (end-to-end customer contact services across multiple channels). The company was established as a joint venture by Bristol Water and Wessex Water in 2001 to manage metering, billing, and collection operations, and now also serves water2business as a retailer client. All services are delivered through a unified operational model with a focus on award-winning customer service performance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Meter Reading Services Field-based meter reading services for residential and commercial water customers, including route optimisation to minimise carbon emissions when visiting 2.5 million customer properties across the South West of England.
• Billing Services Accurate and timely billing for water and wastewater services, serving both residential and business customers, with consolidated multi-site billing for business customers.
• Collections and Debt Management Debt management and collections services provided as part of Pelican's integrated business solutions to support water utility clients in achieving their strategic goals.
• Customer Experience Management End-to-end customer experience services including handling non-operational customer enquiries, complaint resolution, and award-winning customer service across multiple contact channels for water utility clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 900,000 customers helped in 2024/25
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bristol WatercoreOthersBristol Water is a water supply company providing drinking water to 1.2 million people in a 2,400 square kilometre area centred on Bristol. Pelican was established by Bristol Water (alongside Wessex Water) to manage all their metering, billing, and collection operations.
• Wessex WatercoreOthersWessex Water is a regional water and sewerage business serving 2.8 million customers across the south west of England. Pelican was established by Wessex Water (alongside Bristol Water) to manage their metering, billing, and collection operations. Wessex Water has topped water industry customer service league tables for many years.
• water2businessminorOtherswater2business is a leading retailer of water and wastewater management solutions to businesses and organisations across England and Scotland, providing water and wastewater efficiency advice and flexible billing for multiple sites.
• Armed Forces CovenantminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Armed Forces Covenant focuses on providing members of the armed forces with equal access to starting a new career. Applicants who have previously served in the armed forces and meet minimum requirements for a job will automatically be invited for an interview.
• Disability Confident EmployerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a Disability Confident Employer, Pelican guarantees a job interview to any applicant who declares they have a disability, as long as they meet the minimum requirements for the role. The company is committed to ensuring recruitment is inclusive and accessible.
• National Autistic SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the Autism at Work programme helps Pelican understand, embrace and increase neurodiversity. The programme allows roles to be advertised on the society's network and provides tailored support to candidates with autism, including manager and team training.
• Bristol Women in Business CharterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommitment to ensuring gender equality is an ongoing focus. Analysis of approach to gender equality has helped make better decisions in recruitment, retention, and engagement. Collaboration with other Charter members allows sharing of ideas and celebrating achievements.
• Women's Work LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Women's Work Lab to offer work placements designed to build confidence and skills to support women who are looking to get back into employment.
• Women's Utilities Network (WUN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembers of WUN providing access to networking events, mentoring, webinars, careers events, podcasts, and opportunities for personal development for women in the utilities sector.
• Talk ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTalk Club is a UK male mental health organisation. Pelican embraces Talk Club's 'How are you? Out of 10?' approach in everyday conversation. Pitch-side advertising board at Nailsea United FC promotes the relationship with Talk Club.
• Nailsea United FCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal sports club sponsorship, with new pitch-side advertising board promoting relationship with Talk Club.
• Nailsea & Backwell Rugby ClubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal sports club sponsorship. Pelican is the lead sponsors of the club's Under 13s match day kit this season.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Capita: Large UK-listed outsourcing and BPO group providing customer services, billing and collections across regulated utilities including water. Directly comparable as a multi-vertical BPO serving regulated clients, though at much broader scale than Pelican.
• Serco: Global public-services outsourcer with UK regulated-utility front-office and back-office contracts. Comparable as a large-scale BPO delivering operational services to government and utility clients under long-term contracts.
• Sodexo (UK): Global services group with UK facilities management and on-site service operations, including in regulated and utility environments. Comparable as a people-intensive outsourced service provider for institutional clients.
• Arvato (Bertelsmann): International BPO providing customer service, billing and collections — including dedicated utility-sector programmes. Directly comparable in CRM, collections and O2C execution for regulated clients.
• Itron (UK Metering): Global metering technology and managed services vendor with significant UK water utility footprint in AMI and meter data management. Comparable as a meter-reading and data-service provider to water utilities.

Direct peers

• IMServ: European provider of meter reading, data collection and managed services for energy and water utilities. Closely comparable on the meter-reading and meter-data-management service line that is core to Pelican's offering.
• Anglian Water (Customer Services operations): Large UK water utility operating in-house meter reading, billing and customer service at similar scale to Pelican's parents. Directly comparable function-by-function as a captive customer-service operation for a UK water company.
• Severn Trent (Customer Services): Major UK water utility with large in-house billing, collections and customer-experience operations that compete with Pelican for outsourced utility CX mandates. Comparable as a scaled in-house equivalent of Pelican's operating model.
• Water Plus: UK business water retailer providing water and wastewater billing services to commercial customers across England and Scotland. Comparable as a non-household water retail/billing entity operating in the same end-market as water2business (Pelican's third-party client).

Emerging players

• Vertex (Utilities): Provider of utility billing and tax-determination software used by water and energy companies. Comparable as a billing-platform vendor that competes for the same wallet share of utility O2C functions Pelican operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pelican_uk
• Facebookfacebook.com/pelican.co.uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pelicanbusinessservices
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearepelican

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pelican Business Services