Mears Group has won a £62 million contract to carry out repairs and maintenance work to 11,500 homes across the Midlands, East Anglia and South of England.

The five-year deal with Riverside Housing Association was revealed by the Group in its latest pre-close trading update ahead of its interim results for the six months to 30 June 2018.

The contract has an five-year extension option, taking its total value to potentially £125m, and work is due to commence in July.

In its trading update, Mears said the Group "continues to develop innovative solutions to address the significant shortfall of affordable housing".

"Mears has been engaged, through a negotiated bidding process, by the London Borough of Waltham Forest ("LBWF") to arrange the purchase and refurbishment of 365 homes, currently under private ownership," the Group said.

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"The key aim is to provide LBWF with an alternative, affordable housing supply to replace the significant bed and breakfast accommodation costs currently incurred. Mears has engaged funding partners to finance the purchase of properties on behalf of the client, while it will carry out refurbishment works and act as managing agent for the portfolio.

"The contract will be operated by LBWF and Mears for 40 years and the arrangement is valued at circa £75m. The operation will mobilise in July 2018 and the purchase and refurbishment phase will continue over a period of 24 months."

David Miles, Chief Executive of Mears Group, said: "I am satisfied with the progress made in the first half of 2018. The current pipeline of opportunities is particularly exciting. The strategic evolution of our business means we are gaining access to opportunities that previously would have been out of our reach and the senior team is very focused on converting these into secured orders.

"The Mears operation is performing very well and I am encouraged by our excellent service delivery which remains our key differentiator."

(LM)