Spark Energy, the niche utility company for the lettings market, has made a major foray into the bill-splitting market.

It has formed three reciprocal partnerships with businesses in the sector.

Split The Bills, which was launched by a letting agent, DividaBill and BillHub each offers a service which manage bills for tenants in shared houses.

The companies have chosen Spark to be their gas and electricity suppliers.

Each tenant pays a portion of the overall bill by direct debit, covering all of the utilities in their home, preventing disputes between flatmates and stopping them from falling into debt to one another.

Flatmates can view bills online through their bill-splitting provider and can regularly update meter readings to increase accuracy.

The partnerships are targeted at students and young professionals living in shared accommodation.

The services are also attractive to people keen to save time which would otherwise be spent dealing with administration with various different utility suppliers.

Chris Gauld, chief executive at Spark Energy, said: “These companies each provide a fantastic service for their customers, offering convenience and ease when dealing with lots of different bills.”

Split The Bills was founded in 2011 by Ashley Tate, while he was living with friends in a student house.

The company now has more than 40 employees and 15,000 customers, becoming the market-leader in the sector.

Tate left school at 16 and set up a student lettings agent, Fit Property, of which he is still the major shareholder and investor.

BillHub was founded shortly after Split The Bills, while DividaBill was formed last year by university flatmates Jon Akass and Saumeel Pachigar to stop their endless rows about utility bills.