Energy is one of the biggest costs in the leisure sector, but also one of the least controllable. Pools and gyms have to be heated and kept open for long hours regardless of how busy they are, so when energy prices rise the bill rises with them. And unfortunately there's very little a finance team can do about the price.
Sector-wide, pools are one of the most exposed sites. Just last year, Active Nation was pushed into liquidation after its energy bill rose by around 400% (HCM). And it’s a potential fate faced by many other operators, as a 25-metre swimming pool can accumulate £150,000 in energy costs per year (Telnergy).
For a finance director it’s a very difficult position to be in when the biggest moving cost in the budget is also the one you have least control over.
But there are other areas where finance can gain control over costs and find savings that can keep the business afloat.
Why the tariff is out of your hands
There are three things that drive the energy bill and they’re all out of the finance team’s control. The wholesale price is set by the market, the tariff is fixed in a contract, usually agreed months earlier at renewal, and consumption is set by the building and its opening hours.
This means that going after the energy line directly is a largely futile effort. But there are other places to focus on.
What actually brings the cost down
The things that genuinely lower an energy bill are physical and operational. A pool cover that cuts overnight heat loss, variable-speed pumps, heat recovery on the ventilation, replacing ageing plant, and sharper procurement with better timing on tariff renewals.
None of them are things finance can fix by tightening a process. If lowering the bill is the goal, this work sits with engineers, energy consultants and procurement.
So what can finance actually do?
Where finance can make a difference is in the costs across the rest of the business. When one big cost jumps and can't be reduced (e.g. energy), keeping other costs in line matters even more.
First, check energy invoices against contracted rates and pay them on time, so you're not losing money to overpayments, missed credits or late fees on top of an already high bill. Over the year additional fees really add up.
Second, keep all other costs disciplined. That includes everything across cleaning, catering, maintenance and admin, at every site. Becoming focused on the energy number can quickly mean you take your eye off other costs which you actually have more control over.
This is where spend management really earns its place. AP automation checks supplier invoices against what was agreed and flags anything that’s off, and card controls hold firm limits on discretionary spend, so the routine work of keeping costs clean doesn't slip. It won't fix the energy bill, but it protects the margin around it.
Where specialists have to take over
None of these additional financial precautions lower the energy bill itself, as that’s only really possible through procurement, engineering and reducing consumption. In other words, specialists do the capital and engineering work that brings the number down, and finance protects the margin around it.
That's where clear, real-time spend monitoring pays off, letting you keep every controllable cost tight while the specialists tackle the one you can't. If your margin is under pressure from a cost you can't control, a structured look at everything you can is the best response.
