Ancala Water Services has awarded Edinburgh-based water retailer Business Stream a contract to deliver water and waste water services across its estate within England.

The three-year contract, which was awarded following a competitive tendering process, is worth over £45 million and is one of the largest contracts awarded since the English market opened in 2017.

The agreement will support the £1 billion, 25-year Aquatrine contract via which Ancala Water Services delivers water, waste water, fire system maintenance and specialist estate management services to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) across England and Wales.

Business Stream will work in partnership with Ancala Water Services to supply water and waste water services to over 650 sites across the West Midlands and South West of England.

Business Stream said that under the contract, Ancala Water Services will benefit from a partnership and innovation-led service, designed to deliver improved accuracy, consolidated billing services and greater efficiencies across its estate.

The water sector has also developed a bespoke water management strategy aimed at increasing the provision of real time visibility, monitoring and reporting to help track water usage and identify significant changes in demand. The deployment of Automatic Meter Readers (AMRs) across key sites will improve awareness of overall water use and help to identify further savings.

Douglas McLaren, Chief Operating Officer, Business Stream, commented:

“We’re absolutely delighted to have been awarded this contract and to become the trusted water partner for Ancala Water Services across its sites in England. We have a vast amount of experience in working with the private and public sector and a proven track record in delivering financial and environmental savings to our customers. We’re now looking forward to working in partnership with Ancala Water Services to support improvements across their business.”

Andrew Davies, Operations Director, Ancala Water Services, added:

“We were looking for a partner that would enable us to identify and deliver innovative-led solutions to challenge industry norms and improve the standards and practices we currently receive within the water retail sector. Following a highly competitive tendering process, we are delighted to award the contract to Business Stream who we believe are the right partner to help us achieve this goal.”

Business Stream - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottish Water with its own board and independent management team - is the largest operator in the Scottish non-domestic water market. Headquartered in Edinburgh, it also has a presence in Worthing and Bradford, and employs c380 people.

Ahead of the opening of the English retail water market in April 2017, Business Stream acquired the non-household customer base of Southern Water in preparation for the English retail water market.

In October 2019, Business Stream subsequently acquired the customer base of its competitors Yorkshire Water Business Services (YWBS) and Three-Sixty, both part of the Kelda Group, doubling its market share.

Ancala Water Services delivers water and waste water services to over 1,100 sites throughout England and Wales. The assets managed by Ancala Water Services includes boreholes, reservoirs, surface water pumping stations, sewage pumping stations, treatment works, distribution mains, oil and water interceptors, sewers and water meters.