Miles said that Mears was now the market leader in both Social Housing and Domiciliary Care. He said: “We have won record levels of contracts in both divisions and completed the acquisition of Supporta, cementing our market leading position in Domiciliary Care, a market that continues to grow as care in the home is by far the most affordable solution for Local Authorities."
Miles moved up to chief executive in November, succeeding Bob Holt.
He continued: "Mears is well placed to lead and consolidate the Domiciliary Care market place which is some 10 years behind the more developed Social Housing market. We can use the experience gained in Social Housing to enhance the market efficiencies in Domiciliary Care and share the benefits with our clients. Targeted acquisitions will be considered in order to broaden the diversity of Mears' Domiciliary Care offering along the services supply chain and expand the range of services provided to people in their homes. Mears' clients will benefit from a national platform for the provision of an enhanced quality service provision. Mears will soon be the only Domiciliary Care operator listed in the London Stock Exchange.
"Our focus for Social Housing will be to continue growing through further contract wins, expand the geographic offering through targeted acquisitions of regional businesses with existing relationships with Registered Social Landlords and on-going innovation through further partnerships such as that with British Gas.
"We have a demonstrable track record of identifying and capitalising on inefficient markets, and developing strong strategic relationships with our clients which has sustained annual double digit growth in our earnings since coming to the Stock Market in 1996.
"Most importantly, we have the right management team in place to take our business forward and capitalise on the many opportunities in our growth markets."
The group's order book stands at £2.7bn, “providing unprecedented forward visibility of consensus forecast revenues for 2011 of in excess of 90% and approaching 80% for 2012”, the company said.
Orders with a total value of £193m (including extensions) have been won in recent weeks, including:
Tower Hamlets Homes
A 5-year partnership contract to provide responsive repairs, void services, gas servicing and breakdown cover. The contract is valued at £60 million for the initial 5-year period, with an option to extend for a further 5 years giving a total contract value of £120 million including extensions. We have been appointed as sole partner to deliver the services to 12,700 tenanted and 8,600 leasehold properties. The contract is due to start in April 2011.
Penwith Housing Association and Devon and Cornwall Housing Association
A 5-year contract to provide external cyclical maintenance and repair services in Cornwall. The contract is worth in excess of £6m over the five-year period. Penwith Housing Association (PHA) and Devon and Cornwall Housing Association (DCHA) own and manage more than 6,800 properties throughout Cornwall. This award represents a renewal for the cyclical repairs service with PHA and additional value from DCHA and is due to start in April 2011.
Moat Homes
A 10-year partnership providing responsive repairs and void maintenance services. Mears has been appointed as sole partner to deliver these services to 15,000 properties, predominantly in the southeast of England. The contract is valued at £67m over the life of the partnership. Moat was already a client of Mears, having been awarded an interim contract 18 months ago. The new long-term contract begins in April 2011.
Domiciliary Care contract awards
Four contracts have been won in Domiciliary Care amounting to £6m. This is in addition to the £12m announced on 2 November 2010. Wins included further work from some existing clients such as Wigan Council, as well as new client wins such as Worcester City Council.
Acquisition of certain assets of Rok
Mears is taking over the social housing business assets of the Bristol social housing division of Rok. Assets comprise social housing contracts relating primarily to kitchen and bathroom installations together with roofing, cladding and insulation works. The acquisition provides access
Acquisition of assets from Anchor
Mears has acquired a group of Home Improvement Agencies from Anchor Housing for a nominal fee. Home Improvement Agencies are currently contracted by Local Authorities to provide primarily home adaptation and handyman services to vulnerable owner occupiers in local communities. Mears said that this helps to cement relations with local authorities and extends the company’s geographic footprint.
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