News: Mears acquires Morrison

Morrison Facilities Services, the company that maintains council properties in Rotherham, has been acquired by Mears, the UK's leading provider of social housing repairs and maintenance services.

Morrison, which has in excess of 2,500 employees, delivers services to social housing clients in the UK.

It began a £60.5m contract to maintain council properties in 2010. The five and a half year deal, with four possible one-year extensions, is to repair and maintain 13,000 properties in Rotherham North, Rotherham South and Wentworth North.

The £24m acquisition adds further to Mears' current portfolio of more than 500,000 properties.

In a joint statement, both companies said that "the Morrison contract base fits well with Mears' structure and service delivery ethos. The acquisition increases Mears' capability and experience of running very large contracts. The enlarged Group will combine expertise and resources to deliver the best possible service for our customers."

David Miles, chief executive at Mears Group, added: "This is an exciting acquisition for Mears and we look forward to welcoming Morrison staff to the Mears family. I am confident that this will bring benefits for clients, tenants and staff.

"We will work closely with all partners to ensure a smooth a transition as possible towards an integrated, sustainable, customer focussed group."

As part of the Rotherham contract, Morisson opened its Yorkshire Training Academy on Thames Street that provides training for all of the company's apprentices in Yorkshire, currently around 40 students, as well as training initiatives for the local community.

Morrison website

Mears website

Images: morrisonplc.com