EDINBURGH based water retailer, Business Stream, is now the second-largest water retailer in the UK, following its acquisition of the non-household customer base of Yorkshire Water Business Services and recent successes in the market.
The water company, which services over 340,000 customers across the UK, has confirmed that since the English market opened in 2017, it has generated around £280 million in new contract wins.
Recent wins include the UK wide portfolios of Lloyds Banking Group, Network Rail, Regus Management (UK) and Cancer Research UK. The water retailer also secured a deal with the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO), which was the largest single public sector contract awarded this year.
At the start of 2019 Business Stream announced its plans to acquire the non-household customer base of Yorkshire Water Business Services and Three-Sixty, a second acquisition for the water retailer since the English market opened. This latest deal, which took effect in October, has almost doubled Business Stream’s market share which, alongside organic growth, has helped cement its position as the second-largest water retailer in the UK market.
This announcement follows the company’s recent launch of its new vision, to make a positive difference to its customers, its people, the environment and the local communities it operates within. Recent initiatives include partnering with Business in the Community (BiTC) to run a primary school-based volunteering programme; working with Career Ready to provide mentoring and work experience placements to secondary school students; developing a charity panel to support fundraising activities; launching its water efficiency pledge; and introducing initiatives to improve employees’ health and wellbeing.
Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, commented: “It has been a really exciting period for the company. Through a targeted acquisition trail and our on-going commitment to providing a market-leading customer experience, we have undergone a period of significant growth which has positioned our business well for the future. Our immediate focus is on ensuring the transition is seamless for our customers and colleagues.
Looking ahead, we plan to drive forward our vision to make a positive difference, building on the work we have done to date and expanding our programme to include other areas such as carbon offsetting to help support the Government’s net-zero targets”.
In the past two years, Business Stream has won 20 national and European customer service awards, in recognition of its commitment to deliver innovative customer-centric solutions and services. Most recently, it received four accolades at the 2019 UK Customer Experience Awards and two at the 2019 European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards, which took place this week.