Trusted business, funding & energy-cost advisory since 2012 +44 (0)20 8058 9084  ·  info@olr-consulting.com
Independent UK advisory since 2012

Form, fund and grow your business — and cut its costs.

OLR Consulting helps ambitious businesses get established, secure funding for rapid growth, and recover significant value through energy-cost relief and R&D tax credits, and put AI to practical use — pairing commercial and funding strategy with genuine technical insight across science, energy, manufacturing and technology.

Book a free 30-minute consultation Explore our services →

Independent UK advisory firm · London · Serving manufacturing, energy, life-sciences, technology & investment sectors.
OLR Consulting is a trading name of Ascent Ventures Management Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, company number 11772449.

BICS applications open

BICS applications close at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026. Eligible manufacturers can cut electricity bills by up to 25% from April 2027, plus a one-off 2027 payment reflecting support from April 2026. Applications cannot be amended once submitted — so it pays to get them right first time.

Check eligibility →
What we do

Three ways we add value: grow, save and automate

We help you build and fund the business, recover cost and capital to fuel it, and free up your team's time with practical AI. Delivered independently or as one integrated programme.

Grow
📈

Business Formation & Management Consultancy

Company formation, establishment and strategic development — the foundations and the plan for sustainable, rapid growth.

See consultancy & funding →
Grow
💷

Funding & Investment

Guidance on funding options and support in positioning genuine rapid-growth opportunities for investment.

See consultancy & funding →
Save
⚡

Energy Cost Relief

Assessment and application support for the EII exemption, the British Industry Supercharger and Network Charging Compensation.

See energy relief →
Save · Closes 30 Nov
🏭

BICS Applications

Eligibility checks, evidence packs and submission for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme — up to 25% off eligible manufacturers' electricity bills.

See BICS applications →
Save
🔬

R&D Tax Credits

Identify qualifying R&D expenditure and maximise your claim — meaningful Corporation Tax reductions or payable credits.

See R&D credits →
Automate
🤖

Practical AI

Fixed-price sprints that automate one time-consuming process, and hands-on team sessions built around your own documents and tools.

See practical AI →
Grow · Our founding discipline

Business formation, management consultancy & funding

Long before energy relief and R&D credits, OLR's core work was helping ambitious businesses get established, shape their strategy, and secure the funding to scale. That remains at the heart of what we do — with a particular focus on high-potential, rapid-growth opportunities.

🏗️

Company Formation & Establishment

Setting up the right structure and laying solid commercial foundations for a new or expanding venture.

🧭

Strategic Development

Business planning, commercial strategy and growth roadmaps tailored to your market and ambitions.

💷

Funding & Investment

Guidance on funding options and support in positioning genuine rapid-growth opportunities for investment.

Where we see rapid-growth potential

Modern pharmaceutical bioprocess laboratory

Drug Development & Life Sciences

Backed by deep bioprocess and pharmaceutical experience — from drug discovery to scale-up — gained over a career including senior roles at Merck Millipore.

Wind turbines across green UK hills

Green Energy

Renewable generation and green-energy project feasibility — building on OLR's long heritage in wind-generation appraisal and investment.

Energy-intensive industry — glass furnace with molten glass

Energy & Tax Savings

Turning recovered energy-cost relief and R&D tax credits into reinvestable capital that funds your next stage of growth.

Discuss formation, strategy or funding
Save

Energy cost relief — EII, the Supercharger & BICS

UK industrial electricity prices are among the highest in the industrialised world. Government schemes can cut those costs substantially for eligible businesses — but the rules are technical, change yearly, and each scheme has its own evidence tests. We help you find out where you stand and secure what you're entitled to.

Request an eligibility assessment
Electric-arc furnace pouring molten steel — energy-intensive heavy industry Grid-scale battery energy storage facility at dusk Modern manufacturing plant integrated with wind and solar generation
100%

EII Exemption & British Industry Supercharger

A 100% exemption from the indirect costs of the Contracts for Difference (CfD), Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariff schemes and the Capacity Market, plus Network Charging Compensation at 90% of eligible network costs from April 2026.

25%

BICS — applications open now

Up to 25% off electricity bills from April 2027 for 10,000+ eligible manufacturers, plus a one-off 2027 payment reflecting support from April 2026. The first application window closes on 30 November 2026. How we help →

Annual

Eligibility moves yearly

Qualification rests on your sector classification and an electricity-intensity test recalculated each year, so businesses move in and out of scope. We keep your position under review.

STEP 01

Assess

Sector classification, an electricity-intensity calculation and the right scheme route — with an indication of what it could be worth.

STEP 02

Apply

We prepare and manage your certificate and scheme applications end-to-end, working from your energy and financial data.

STEP 03

Monitor

Annual re-application, quarterly reporting and scheme transitions handled for you, so your relief is protected as the rules change.

A note on eligibility. Qualification depends on your circumstances and on evidence only you hold, and the rules continue to develop. We provide expert assessment and application support, not a guaranteed outcome. Nothing here constitutes regulated financial advice.
Save · Window closes 30 November 2026

BICS applications: assessed, evidenced and submitted for you

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme exempts eligible manufacturers from the indirect costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs from April 2027, and the Capacity Market from October 2027 — worth around £35–£40 per MWh. The first application window closes at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026, and applications cannot be amended once submitted.

0%
Exemption where 25% or less of a site's grid electricity is used for eligible manufacturing
50%
Where more than 25% but less than 50% is used for eligible manufacturing
100%
Where 50% or more is used for eligible manufacturing — applied to all the site's grid electricity

Who can qualify

  • A business registered at Companies House, operating in an eligible sector (SIC code)
  • Manufacturing eligible products (HS codes) at the site
  • Each site using at least 33 MWh of grid electricity a year
  • Six consecutive months of electricity and production data from the last twelve

Where we add most value

  • Multiple sites, shared meters or private networks
  • Mixed eligible and ineligible products on one site
  • Limited sub-metering, so electricity must be allocated with care
  • Interaction with an existing EII certificate
STEP 01

Eligibility check

SIC and HS codes, the site-by-site electricity share and an indicative value — free, usually within two working days.

STEP 02

Evidence pack

Bills, consumption and production data, the electricity allocation and the written statements the application requires.

STEP 03

Submission

We submit as your authorised representative; one of your registered officers confirms by email.

STEP 04

Afterwards

Supplier coordination and the annual declarations the scheme requires.

Fees: a fixed fee per site, quoted after the free eligibility check and agreed before work starts — not a percentage of your savings.
Book a free BICS eligibility check

For energy brokers and consultants

Many of your manufacturing clients may qualify for BICS or the EII exemption. We assess, prepare and submit applications within your client relationship, with fees agreed upfront and disclosed to your client. Talk to us about working together.

The government's BICS team decides eligibility after assessing each application. We provide assessment and application support, not a guaranteed outcome. Scheme details summarise GOV.UK guidance as at October 2026.

Policy Watch

UK energy-relief policy, tracked for you

The schemes that cut your electricity costs change constantly — consultations, legislation, thresholds and claim windows. OLR continuously monitors the official sources and briefs clients on what each change means in practice. Recent briefings:

1 Oct 2026
BICS

BICS applications open — window closes 30 November

The online application service opened on 1 October 2026 and closes at 11:59pm on 30 November 2026. Applications cannot be amended after submission, and a consultant can apply on a business's behalf once a registered officer confirms by email. Each site must use at least 33 MWh of grid electricity a year.

12 Jun 2026
Regulation

Ofgem opens market review of energy brokers & consultants

Responses were due by 16 July 2026. Government intends to make Ofgem the regulator of energy brokers and consultants, with registration and fit-and-proper checks, once legislation passes; no start date has been set. A long-overdue clean-up of the intermediary market that OLR welcomes.

Jun 2026
Supercharger · NCC

NCC 90% compensation in force — Q2 claim window opens 30 June

Network Charging Compensation rose from 60% to 90% on 1 April 2026, and the extended two-month Q2 application window opens 30 June 2026 (uplifted payments flow after April 2027). Supercharger holders should review their claims now.

Apr 2026
BICS

BICS final design confirmed — 10,000+ manufacturers in scope

Up to 25% off electricity bills via Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariff and Capacity Market exemptions. Exemptions go live in April 2027 (Capacity Market from October 2027), with a one-off 2027 payment reflecting the support firms would have received from April 2026.

Apr 2026
EII eligibility

Revised EII exemption guidance published

The baseline electricity price used for 2026 applications is £168.78/MWh — based on 2025 industrial prices, expressed in 2012 money — down from £190.51/MWh in 2025. A lower baseline makes the 20%-of-GVA intensity test harder to pass for marginal firms, so positions are well worth re-checking this year.

Ahead
Carbon pricing

UK CBAM arrives 1 January 2027

A new carbon border tax on imported aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel. Primary legislation sits in the Finance Act 2026, with an illustrative CBAM rate due in autumn 2026. Importers and energy-intensive supply chains should prepare.

Briefings summarise official publications (GOV.UK, Ofgem) as at the date shown; policy can change and details depend on individual circumstances. For what a change means for your business, get in touch.

Save

R&D Tax Credits

If your business invests in innovation — developing new products, processes or materials, or resolving genuine technical uncertainty — you may be entitled to significant Corporation Tax relief or a payable credit.

We help you identify qualifying R&D expenditure and build a robust, well-evidenced claim. With a scientific and engineering background, we're especially effective in the fields where qualifying activity is most often under-claimed — life sciences, manufacturing, chemistry and energy.

How we help

  • Identify qualifying projects and expenditure
  • Quantify the potential claim
  • Prepare clear technical and financial documentation
  • Work with your accountant on submission, and support them through any HMRC enquiry

Outcomes depend on your activities and HMRC rules; we provide assessment and claim support, not a guaranteed result.

Automate

Practical AI that saves time — without a big project

Most businesses already pay for AI tools they barely use. We start with one process that costs your team real hours every week, and make it faster and more reliable using the tools you already have.

Quotes & proposalsMonthly reportingDocument & compliance checksEnquiry & inbox triageData entry between systems

AI quick-win sprint

We map one time-consuming process, build the assistant, automation or templates that handle it, test it with your team and hand it over with a written guide — in about two weeks.

Fixed fee, agreed upfront

Team AI session

A hands-on half-day for up to 15 staff, built on your own documents and tasks, with prompts to keep and 30 days of follow-up questions. Delivered remotely.

Fixed fee per session, agreed upfront

We work within your existing tools and data policies, and nothing is put into use without your sign-off.

Discuss an AI quick win
Who we work with

Sectors we serve

Deep familiarity with technical, regulated and energy-intensive industries — and the high-growth ventures emerging within them.

💊Pharmaceutical & life sciences / drug development
🌱Green & renewable energy
🏭Manufacturing & energy-intensive industries
🔬Scientific & technology
📊Financial & growth investment
Jon Tancock, Founder and Managing Director of OLR Consulting
Jon Tancock
Founder & Managing Director
Founded OLR: 2012
Background: Chemistry & bioprocess, engineering & renewables
Experience: 30+ years
About OLR Consulting

Senior expertise, delivered personally

OLR Consulting is led by its founder and Managing Director, Jon Tancock. A chemist by training with a BSc in Pure and Applied Chemistry, Jon spent many years in drug discovery and in bioprocess design and optimisation — including a senior commercial and application-engineering role at Merck Millipore, supporting global pharmaceutical organisations such as AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis, Lonza and Amgen.

Alongside the science, he has built and led ventures across renewable energy (as a director of Renewable Energy Technologies UK) and specialist recruitment for the life-sciences, engineering and manufacturing sectors. It's this rare blend — technical depth, commercial and funding experience, and a long commitment to green energy — that makes OLR's advice practical and credible, especially where understanding the underlying science matters as much as the rules.

Jon also works daily with AI agents and automation, and OLR now brings the same tools to clients' own processes — practically, and with a clear view of what they can and cannot do.

"Good advice starts with understanding what a business actually does — then making the numbers work for it."
The OLR difference

Why clients choose OLR

🎯

Tailored, never templated

Every engagement is built around your business, your data and your objectives.

⚗️

Technically credible

A genuine science, engineering and energy background — we understand what your business actually does.

🤝

Senior attention

You work directly with an experienced principal, from first assessment to ongoing review.

Track record

Experience you can trust

OLR's advice is grounded in decades of hands-on work across science, industry and energy — at the highest level.

Since 2012
OLR Consulting established & owner-led
30+ years
Founder's experience across science, energy & commerce
BSc
Pure & Applied Chemistry — a genuine technical foundation
Multi-sector
Pharma R&D, energy, manufacturing & investment
Over his career, OLR's founder has supported some of the world's leading pharmaceutical organisations on process design and scale-up — during his time at Merck Millipore:
AstraZenecaGSKPfizerNovartisLonzaAmgen

Selected project & venture experience

Biopharma · Process engineering

Biopurification design & scale-up for global pharma

Commercial and application-engineering lead on biopurification process design and scale-up — LPLC chromatography and ultrafiltration — for the world's leading pharmaceutical organisations, spanning contract negotiation through to project delivery (Merck Millipore, Northern Europe).

Green energy · Feasibility

Wind-generation feasibility & investment appraisal

Director-level consulting on proposed green-energy projects — particularly wind generation — delivering feasibility studies and appraising investment opportunities in viable schemes (Renewable Energy Technologies UK, 2010–2016).

Ventures · Talent & growth

Building specialist technical ventures

Founded and ran OLR Scientific, an owner-managed scientific recruitment business serving bio-pharmaceutical research and manufacturing (2001–2012), alongside two decades of business development and executive search across life sciences, engineering and manufacturing.

Career project experience of OLR's founder, from senior roles held prior to and alongside OLR Consulting.

Let's discuss what your business needs

Start with a free, no-obligation 30-minute consultation. We'll listen first, then tell you candidly where we can help — whether that's forming and funding the business, cutting its costs or putting AI to work.

Book your free consultation
Get in touch

Let's talk

Call or email with an outline of your requirements, and we'll be glad to discuss the scope of your needs and how we can best help.

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8058 9084

Email

info@olr-consulting.com

Office

71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden,
London, WC2H 9JQ

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