Competition heats up for public sector water contracts

Public sector organisations ramp up the search for water retailers

Public sector organisations are showing increasing interest in the non-domestic water retail market, Anglian Water Business has told Utility Week.

Anglian Water Business public sector business manager Stuart Richards said that “increasing activity” within the non-domestic retail market is evident among public sector organisations who are “choosing value for money retail services that can help them improve efficiency and make sustainable savings.’’

Last week Anglian Water Business was named among four companies who won a framework contract to supply Progress Housing Group with water retail services. The group owns almost 11,000 residential rental properties in England and Scotland.

The other companies to win business with Progress Housing Group were: Castle Water, Everflow and water2business. The contract was put out to tender by broker Apollo Energy.

On confirmation of this contract Everflow customer services director Josh Gill told Utility Week: “It has been really great to see already in England that customers have been quick to recognise the value and service that an independent water company like Everflow can provide.”

Gill said that gaining recognition from Progress Housing Group which has “a large spend on water” is a boon because it “helps to demonstrate the confidence that all customers can have in independent providers.”

Water2business business development manager Siobhan Kennedy-Hall added: “As the market opening rapidly approaches, water2business is delighted to have been awarded the framework agreement with Progress Housing. We are looking forward to working with Progress to ensure water efficiencies, sustainability and savings all delivered through excellent service.”

Castle Water chief executive John Reynolds told Utility Week: “We are active across the whole UK market, we think it is important to offer waterfront coverage. We provide services to a number of similar types of organisations in the market in Scotland, so we see this as being related to the type of activity that we already have experience in.

“Progress Housing do a mixture of different types of housing in areas and in ways that is close to what we do already in Scotland, so the experience in Scotland is very valuable here and will read across to what we can provide in England.”

The announcement follows the news that Crown Commercial Service issued tender documents for licensees last month. The agency valued the public sector water retail market at £960 million.