HomeServe cooking on gas after latest takeover deal

HomeServe, the household insurance and repairs group, has snapped up a Nottingham-based company in a multi-million pound deal to expand its work in the domestic gas market.

It will give HomeServe, which employs around 1,100 at its Walsall headquarters, a team of 600 plumbing, drainage and heating engineers on call across the UK.

And the company says the move puts it in position to challenge competitors on the national stage.

The takeover of Home Energy Services, for an undisclosed figure, adds 150 office staff at Nottingham and 150 gas engineers to the HomeServe payroll. They will be working with the existing HomeServe centres in Walsall, Preston and Banbury.

HomeServe, which also provides electrical services, currently serves around two million customers across the UK.

"This will be an important step for both HomeServe and Home Energy Services" said Martin Bennett, chief executive of HomeServe Membership.

"The addition of Home Energy Services' gas expertise and network of directly-employed gas engineers to our market-leading plumbing and drainage division and our own experienced gas engineers, working alongside our trusted group of third-party service providers and our growing gas franchising business, creates an incredible opportunity for us, but more importantly, absolutely supports our goal of delivering truly effortless service to our customers.

"In the short-term for both HomeServe and Home Energy Services, our focus is absolutely on the winter months ahead, our busiest time and often the time our customers need us most. However, the New Year promises to be exciting for us all.

"In becoming part of the HomeServe family, Home Energy Services People join a growing business and I know they will make a massive contribution as we continue on our journey to become the number one home assistance company in the UK."

Chris McLain, CEO of Home Energy Services, added: "HomeServe is a company into which Home Energy Services fits perfectly. We are very similar in that we are absolutely focused on our customers, and the complementarities of our relative experience and expertise makes for a very powerful, and market-changing, combination."

Home Energy Services provides boiler and central heating maintenance, installation and repairs. Originally a division of the energy company E.ON, Home Energy Services became an independent company following a management buyout in April 2013.