Business Stream Onboards Scottish Public Sector

Edinburgh-based water retailer, Business Stream, has successfully onboarded over 15,000 new Scottish public sector sites, at the same time as the business transitioned its entire workforce to operating from home, in line with the Government guidelines to reduce the impact of COVID-19.

The retailer was awarded the Scottish Government Public Sector Procurement contract at the start of the year. The contract, worth around £200M, covers Scottish public sector bodies including Local Authorities, NHS Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Police Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, universities and colleges and Scottish Government.

The retailer is already working with the sector to deliver financial and environmental savings, with a key focus on helping public sector customers to contribute towards the Scottish Government’s ambitious net-zero carbon targets.

To support the delivery of the new contract, Business Stream also welcomed 16 new colleagues to the business.

In its response to COVID-19, the retailer has remained committed to protecting its employees and maintaining core services to its customers. Recognising the impact COVID-19 will have on businesses across the country, it has also been working pro-actively with the Scottish and UK Government, regulators and wholesale providers of water to implement additional measures to support those in need. This includes providing payment support arrangements; a wide range of flexible payment plans; and temporarily suspending disconnection activity.

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, commented: “I am delighted to welcome our Scottish public sector customers and 16 new colleagues to Business Stream. Our dedicated team has worked incredibly hard to ensure that COVID-19 didn’t result in any delays to our onboarding process. We are looking forward to working in partnership with our public sector customers across Scotland, providing our expertise and services to help them save time, money and water.”

The contract represents a significant win back for the water company. Earlier this year it announced that it was the second largest water retailer in the UK, following its acquisition of Yorkshire Water Business Services and success in securing over £280M of new contracts since the English market opened in 2017.

About Business Stream

• Business Stream is the largest operator in the Scottish non-domestic water market. Headquartered in Edinburgh, it also has offices in Glasgow, Worthing and Bradford, and employs over 400 members of staff.
• The Scottish retail water market opened in 2008. The English retail water market, which opened in April 2017, has paved the way for over 1.2 million businesses and public bodies in England to now also be able to choose their water supplier.
• Business Stream acquired the non-household customer base of Southern Water in preparation for the opening of the English retail water market.
• On 1 October 2019, Business Stream acquired the customer base of its competitors Yorkshire Water Business Services (YWBS) and Three-Sixty, both part of the Kelda Group, doubling its market share.
• Since retail competition was introduced to Scotland in 2008, Business Stream has saved businesses and public sector organisations more than £242M and helped them conserve over 43 billion litres of water.
• The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scottish Water with its own board and independent management team. It was formed in 2006 with the goal of providing a first class service for business customers on the opening of the competitive market.

For more information, visit business-stream.co.uk.