Business Stream gains House of Fraser contracts

Business Stream has agreed a deal to supply three of House of Fraser's flagship stores in England.

The Scottish water supplier has agreed a two year deal with the retailer for its Oxford Street store in London, as well as its city centre stores in Birmingham and Manchester.

The deal comes ahead of market opening for non-domestic competition in April 2017 because sites that consume more than 5 million litres of water per year are already eligible to switch, and it marks the start of “ambitious growth plans” the water company has for the English market.

As part of the deal Business Stream will also install automated meter readers into 10 House of Fraser stores in England, following a successful deployment at its stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow. These will provide 15 minute meter readings and help to identify any leaks.

Business Stream chief executive Johanna Dow said: “House of Fraser is a valued partner for us in Scotland and they were very clear on the benefits of bringing more of their water estate under one supplier, which is something we know many businesses are keen to do.

“There’s clearly an appetite from businesses across every sector to make water work more efficiently for them.”

She added: “The experience in Scotland shows that competition delivers for customers, not just through significant reductions in water consumption, but also in pounds and pence.

“We would like companies based in England to be able to access those benefits too, and for that reason we’re very pleased to have agreed this contract.”

House of Fraser hopes the deal will help it to develop its sustainability strategy which integrates sustainable development within the company’s strategic planning process.

House of Fraser executive chairman Frank Slevin said: “We are looking forward to working with Business Stream to make further improvements to how we manage our water supply across our flagship stores.

“Our sustainability measures are extremely important to us as a business and as a key player in the retail sector we have a responsibility to try and identify creative solutions to manage these issues.

“Business Stream’s support and expertise in water saving, recycling, auditing and leak protection will help us become even more efficient and support our wider sustainability ambitions which in turn will add value to our business.”