Exclusive: Contractor joins with British Gas after original partner Npower drops out of the Newcastle contest, with race down to two teams

Contractor Wates has switched teams in the race for the Newcastle’s £200m Green Deal scheme.

Final bids for the job, which involves energy efficiency retrofits of domestic and non-domestic buildings across the region, were submitted last Friday.

The two remaining teams in the race are British Gas with Wates Living Space and a consortium of energy firm EDF, housing firm Gentoo and contractor Keepmoat.

Wates’ Living Space arm had originally been bidding for the job alongside energy firm Npower.

But Npower dropped out of the process in early February, and Wates has now joined forces with British Gas, which had been bidding alone, for the final bid submission.

A spokesperson for Npower said it was with “great regret” that the firm had withdrawn from the bidding process.

He added: “Npower has invested significant time, resources and money in preparing the bid. However upon further reflection, Npower has decided not to progress the tendering process.”

He wished the remaining bidders “every success in delivering the project”.

Joanne Jamieson, regional managing director for Wates Living Space, said: “We will be continuing to support the bid for Warm Up North in partnership with British Gas. We remain committed to preparing a tender that will comprehensively address the home efficiency needs across the North East.”

Jamieson added that the firm maintained a relationship with a variety of energy companies across the North-east.

The winning bidder will eventually do work for Newcastle and up to 36 local authorities and other public bodies in the North-east.

The Warm Up North job will be financed through a combination of Newcastle council funding, Energy Company Obligation grants, Green Deal Finance Company money and the appointed delivery partner’s own finances.

The contract will run for an initial five years, with the option to be extended for a further three years.

It is estimated that £155m of work will be in the domestic sector and the remaining £45m will be in the non-domestic sector.

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