How do EV charging installers find new business customers?
Updated 26 October 2026 · by Matt Vallis, Salenovo · counts from our own daily files, read from public registers
The firms that win most new commercial work reach a business at the moment it has to decide, before it has asked anyone for a quote. A haulier applies to license its depot weeks before it's granted, a new occupier decides where its vans and its staff charge in its first weeks, and a site that changes hands has whatever chargers the last owner put in. We tell you which premises are at that point, with the vehicle count where a licence gives one. In our daily files from 20 to 26 October 2026, 148 businesses across Great Britain were at that point for an EV charging desk, 103 of them opening or about to.
Why timing matters for EV charging installers
A business that runs lorries needs an operator licence for its depot, and the Traffic Commissioners publish the application weeks before the grant. One that carries waste registers with the Environment Agency before it starts. Both registers are public and dated, so a new fleet shows the week it begins. Trades that run vans, dealers, hotels, pubs and leisure sites taking on premises come through too, with the floor area and rateable value where the rates list gives them. The Workplace Charging Scheme pays up to 75% of the cost of workplace chargers, capped at £500 a socket and 40 sockets an applicant, until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 21 October 2026), and a new non-residential building in England with more than 10 parking spaces must have a charge point and cable routes for a fifth of the other spaces (Building Regulations Part S, since 15 June 2022).
The usual ways to find new customers, and what each is good for
Referrals and repeat customers
The cheapest work there is, and the most likely to say yes. The catch is that you can't turn the volume up when you need more.
Your own website and Google Business Profile
These bring in businesses already searching for what you do. They're searching for your competitors too, so you're one quote of several.
Trade bodies and accreditation
The Workplace Charging Scheme grant is paid only for work by an installer the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles has authorised, so a business using it looks for one.
Quote websites
Sites such as Bark pass on requests from businesses ready to buy. You pay to respond, and other suppliers can answer the same request, so the work goes to whoever answers first or cheapest.
Public tenders
Contracts Finder and Find a Tender list public sector contracts and are free to search. The jobs are larger and the paperwork heavier, and the decision takes months.
Bought lists
A list broker sells names in bulk by trade and area. Plenty of names, but no reason to call any of them today, and they go out of date quickly.
The moment a business needs you
Food registers, licence applications, the care regulators, operator licences and the councils' rates lists show the week a business takes on premises, changes hands or is about to open, each dated, if someone reads them every day. That's what we send: a file each weekday of the businesses at that point in your region, graded for your trade. Ring the depots licensed or applied for first, then the trades that run vans moving into a unit or a yard, then the hotels, pubs and leisure sites. The job column says what you'd offer before you ring; the reason column says why now.
What a business at the right moment looks like
The moments at a premises that matter to EV charging installers:
| Coming | A business is about to open: a licence applied for, a unit being fitted out, a new company set up to trade from the address. |
| Just moved in | A business has started at premises that had nobody in them: a new ratepayer, a new food business, a newly registered care home, nursery, surgery or garage. |
| Changed hands | A new operator at premises that were already trading: a pub, shop or care home under new ownership, often keeping the old name on the door. |
Last week in numbers
In the daily files from 20 to 26 October 2026, businesses that took on premises, changed hands or were about to, graded A or B for an EV charging desk: 148 across Great Britain, 103 of them opening or about to and 45 just moved in or under a new owner. 121 came with a landline to ring. 60% of them could not have been flagged by a service working from Companies House alone: the premises isn't the registered office, or nothing new was on the register.
| Region | Rows graded A or B | Opening or about to | Moved in or new owner | With a landline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North West | 22 | 15 | 7 | 21 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 21 | 18 | 3 | 18 |
| South East | 19 | 14 | 5 | 15 |
| East Midlands | 17 | 12 | 5 | 13 |
| East of England | 16 | 10 | 6 | 13 |
| West Midlands | 15 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
| Scotland | 11 | 9 | 2 | 8 |
| London | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Wales | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| South West | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| North East | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Some of last week's rows for North West, said in words (the file has the name, the address, the number and where each came from):
- A new premises licence business in Wigan, not open yet, 25 October. A landline to ring.
- A haulage or goods vehicle operator in Westmorland and Furness, not open yet, 23 October. A landline to ring.
- A business premises in Manchester, not open yet, 22 October. A landline to ring. A mailbox.
- A cafe in Westmorland and Furness, opening or just opened, 24 October. A line at the premises, which may be the last occupier’s.
- A caterer business in Liverpool, opening or just opened, 23 October. A landline to ring.
- A business support service activities n.e.c. business in Rossendale, moved in, 22 October. A landline to ring. A mailbox.
Counted from the daily files dated 20 to 26 October 2026, the seven days to the latest file, as they were read on 26 October 2026. Each event is counted once, on the first file it reached.
What we send
A file by 8am every weekday with the businesses in your region at one of those moments, graded so your team rings the best first, each row saying what happened, when, what kind of business it is and a way to reach it where one is public. £250 a month for a region, or £1,000 for Great Britain, monthly, and you can stop at any month's end. The first two weeks are free.
Questions people also ask
Do you know whether the site has parking, or chargers already?
No. Neither is on a register we read. The row carries the floor area and rateable value where the rates list gives them, the vehicle count where an operator licence gives one, and the trade, so a depot, a hotel and a corner shop get the right call.
Is it legal to email a business we haven't dealt with?
A limited company or an LLP can be emailed without its prior consent under PECR, as long as you say who you are and give a way to opt out. Sole traders and partnerships are treated as individuals, so the rules are stricter. Screen phone numbers against the TPS and CTPS before you ring.
What does it cost?
£250 a month for a region, or £1,000 a month for the whole of Great Britain, monthly, and you can stop at any month's end. The first two weeks are free.