Solar-Powered Growth Across Litton’s Property Portfolio

Litton Properties is a property development and investment company based in Bakewell, with a commercial property portfolio spreading across the East Midlands. For Sophie Waite, Asset Management Director at Litton Properties, solar offered a practical way to make the company’s buildings more attractive to occupiers, improve long-term asset value, support EPC improvements and reduce exposure to volatile electricity costs.

A Commercial Property Challenge Driven by Energy Costs

As landlord, Litton Properties supplies and distributes utilities across its sites. Many occupiers are high-energy users, including a brewery, bakeries and manufacturers, so reducing electricity costs was a priority for tenant retention as well as commercial resilience.

Protecting occupiers from rising costs: The energy crisis from 2021, intensified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saw electricity prices rise to unsustainable levels. Onsite generation gave Litton a way to reduce exposure to market volatility and help occupiers stabilise their energy costs.

Future-proofing the portfolio: With the Government’s target for commercial buildings to reach an EPC rating of B by 2030, Litton saw solar as a route to improve EPC performance, increase long-term asset value and turn unused roof space into a steady landlord income stream.

Why Litton Chose Geo Green Power

Following a formal tender process, Geo Green Power stood out for its expertise, professionalism and aftercare. Sophie highlighted the quality of the proposed products and warranties, including 20 years for the inverters and 25 years for the panels, compared with alternatives offering a maximum of 10 years.

“The biggest thing was the team’s confidence, clarity and understanding of our needs. The proposal was based on our sites’ actual energy usage and demands, with clear explanations of the expected generation and financial benefits. We never felt pressured; they genuinely cared about our business and finding the right system for us.”

– Sophie Waite, Asset Management Director, Litton Properties

Geo Green Power worked with Litton to design and deliver solar PV systems that reflected the real energy profile of each site, helping the landlord supply lower-cost onsite electricity to occupiers while creating a long-term commercial return from its roofs.

The Installation Experience

Litton has worked with Geo Green Power since 2017, rolling out solar across its Rotherham and Bakewell sites as the portfolio has developed. Sophie described the team as knowledgeable, approachable and responsive, with clear communication from installation through to ongoing monitoring and maintenance.

Despite the scale of the rollout, disruption was kept to a minimum. The team worked around occupiers, scheduling major works such as road closures for cabling outside normal working hours. Any issues were handled promptly and professionally, with installations delivered in a timely manner.

The Results: Lower Reliance on the Grid and a Stronger Portfolio

Almost half of Riverside’s electricity needs generated onsite: The Bakewell site now generates almost half of its electricity from rooftop solar, significantly reducing reliance on the grid.

Strong onsite consumption: Litton can monitor generation and usage through the system, with more than 80% of PV energy consumed onsite and less than 20% exported, largely outside working hours and at weekends.

Tenant and landlord benefits: Solar has helped stabilise occupier energy costs while giving Litton a steady income stream from previously unused roof space.

Portfolio improvement: The installations support EPC improvements, help future-proof assets and make the properties more attractive to existing and prospective occupiers.

“We saw an opportunity to make better use of various buildings within our portfolio, reduce costs for our tenants and invest in our business, and solar has delivered on all three.”

– Sophie Waite, Asset Management Director, Litton Properties

Advice for Other Commercial Landlords

Sophie said she would “absolutely” recommend Geo Green Power, particularly because the team understood the wider commercial considerations, helped Litton find the right solution and supported the business throughout the process. Litton is already looking at further installations in the pipeline.

For other landlords who are unsure, her advice is to do the numbers and get professional advice, but not to be put off by the initial investment. For Litton, solar has become a long-term investment that turns unused rooftops into a steady income stream while helping occupiers manage their energy bills.

To learn more about how we support business parks throughout the UK with solar solutions, click here.

For more general information about commercial solar installations, click here.

And for ongoing commercial solar maintenance, visit our dedicated page.