Edinburgh’s Business Stream secures bumper £70m English water deal

Business Stream, the Edinburgh-based commercial water retailer, has been awarded one of the largest public sector contracts since the English market was opened to competition in 2017.

Jo Dow is the chief executive of the Edinburgh-based water retailer.

The firm, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottish Water, will provide water and waste-water services to the Ministry of Justice under the deal, worth more than £70 million.

The three-year agreement will see the Scots group manage services at more than 900 sites, including the Home Office and National Probation Service, Courts and Tribunals Service and the HM Prison Service in England.

Business Stream will also develop a “bespoke water management strategy” that will help the organisation to reduce its overall water use.

Chief executive Jo Dow said: “We have a vast amount of experience in working with the public sector and are now looking forward to offering our expertise and suite of innovative services and solutions to the Ministry of Justice, helping the organisation to save time, water and money.”

The firm recently announced that it had become the second largest water retailer in the UK, following its acquisition of the non-household customer base of Yorkshire Water Business Services and recent business wins in the market.

The water company, which services more than 340,000 customers across the UK, confirmed that since the English market opened in 2017 it has generated some £280m in new contract wins.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Business Stream also has offices in Glasgow, Worthing and Bradford, and employs more than 400 staff.

The Scottish non-domestic water market was opened up to competition in 2008 with the equivalent English market doing the same in 2017.

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