Osborne picks up £225m maintenance contract

Waltham Forest council has signed a seven-year contract with building contractor and property services firm Osborne for the maintenance of its 12,500 properties.

Arsham Homes, the arm’s-length management organisation set up by the London Borough of Waltham Forest council, said the deal could be extended by a further eight years to reach more than £225m in value.

Under its terms, Osborne will handle responsive repairs, voids management, and planned maintenance from the beginning of next month.

Osborne will be required to open a local office, where both Ascham staff and its own employees will be based.

Ascham chief executive Madeleine Forster said residents had already played a key role in defining the specification of the new service and had interveiwed vying contractors.

“We are excited by the prospect of developing a new, long-term sustainable relationship that will provide for investment, innovation, best practice and a culture of ‘right first time’, while maintaining value for money,” she said.

Osborne’s social housing repairs team currently covers arond 70,000 homes in London and the south east.