Business Stream wins £200m deal from English rival Anglian Water

A Scottish non-domestic water retailer has won back a £200 million government contract from an English competitor.

Jo Dow, chief executive of Business Stream, claims the service can help the public sector 'save time, money and water'. Picture: Jo Hanley

Edinburgh-headquartered Business Stream has been awarded a three-year water and waste water contract under the Scottish Government’s public sector procurement framework.

The deal covers Scotland’s public sector bodies including local authorities, NHS Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue, Police Scotland, Scottish Government, Prison Services Scotland and universities and colleges.

The service was previously provided by the commercial arm of Anglian Water, which is headquartered in Cambridgeshire.

Edinburgh-headquartered Business Stream serves the UK-wide portfolios of Lloyds Banking Group, Network Rail, Regus Management (UK) and Cancer Research. Picture: Renzo Mazzolini

This represents a significant win for Business Stream, which recently announced that it is the second largest water retailer in the UK following the completion of its acquisitions of English rivals last year.

Savings of £242m

Jo Dow, chief executive of Business Stream, said:“We have a strong track record of working with the public sector and over the years we have developed a suite of value-added services to meet their needs.

“We are now looking forward to working in partnership with public sector organisations across Scotland, providing our expertise and services to help them save time, money and water.”

Business Stream claims to have saved companies and public sector organisations more than £242m and helped them to conserve around 43 billion litres of water since retail competition was introduced to the Scottish market in 2008.

A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “This is the third time that this contract has been competed. Following a robust evaluation process, Scottish Water Business Stream were identified as offering the best balance of quality and price for the public purse.”

Business Stream has secured more than £280m of new contracts since the English retail market was opened up to competition in 2017.

This includes serving the UK-wide portfolios of Lloyds Banking Group, Network Rail, Regus Management (UK) and Cancer Research.

Around 1.2 million businesses and public bodies south of the Border have been able to choose their water supplier since 2017, an option which was previously only available to the largest users.

The Scottish retailer roughly doubled its market share after the takeover of Yorkshire Water Business Services and Three-Sixty – both part of the Kelda Group – in October. This added a further 140,000 customers to Business Steam’s roster.

Formed in 2006, Business Stream is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottish Water, with its own board and management team.

The company has more than 400 members of staff across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Worthing and Bradford.