The group has signed a new 10-year contract worth £40 million as part of our out-of-area repairs and property maintenance programme following a robust procurement process.

The contract has been awarded to Bell Group to carry out refurbishment, maintenance and repair work in our tenant’s and customers’ homes operating under our group and RWP brands outside of the North West of England. Our own in-house Property Service Team will continue to deliver repairs and property maintenance services to our tenants and customers within the North West area.

The long-term partnership will bring about improved service delivery, value for money and added value to the our tenants and customers as we look to jointly develop new and innovative ways of working to meet our tenants' needs and aspirations wherever they live in the country.

Adele Livesey, Director of Property Services for Progress Housing Group, said: "This is a really exciting time for Progress Housing Group; following our recent merger with Reside Housing Association and last month’s launch of our supported living specialist provider, RWP (Reside With Progress), we have seen an increase in our footprint across the country. This contract with Bell Group is key to ensuring that we continue to deliver excellent services and maintain safe and secure homes for our tenants and customers.

“We have already met with our new partners, Bell Group, and are looking forward to working together over the coming months on the mobilisation of the contract to ensure the service is successful from day one before we go live with the new service in July 2022.

"We would like to thank the contractors who have delivered this service on behalf of Progress Housing Group over the last few years and wish them well for the future."

Bell Group CEO Craig Bell said: "The contract award with Progress Housing Group reflects our innovative approach in the asset management space. We have combined a long-term working relationship delivering cyclical decorations with state of the art, customer-focused integrated ICT solutions to offer a best-in-class asset management service fit for the 21st century. Our proposal will see a step-change in standards and efficiency, designed to deliver high-quality, sustainable housing for the next ten years."

Echelon Consultancy Group CEO Mathew Baxter added: "We are delighted to be supporting with the mobilisation of this contract. Echelon Consultancy has worked with Progress Housing Group to develop a bespoke delivery model for this contract, ensuring it delivers a broad range of asset management services to its general needs tenants and supported living customers with learning disabilities and autism,"

"We have used Competitive Dialogue, which enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of the client and their customers' requirements and worked closely with the housing group's service managers throughout the process, which included bidders visiting housing schemes to give them some familiarisation."