Yorkshire Water contract to create new jobs at S&B

TEN jobs are being created after a civil engineering and construction company sealed a contract to ensure that Yorkshire people have pure water.

The contract has been won by S&B Utilities, of Scotton, near Knaresborough, after gaining backing from Yorkshire Bank's Harrogate Financial Solutions Centre (FSC).

S&B Utilities, which has 40 staff and a 3.8m turnover, will join forces with Leeds-based civil engineering business Earth Tech Morrison (ETM) to deliver the project.

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The work forms part of a series of contracts worth 1.3bn which will guarantee that Yorkshire Water customers enjoy high-quality drinking water.

The work being carried out by S&B Utilities and ETM will involve refurbishing up to 60 water pumping stations a year until March 2015.

The jobs being created include management and on-site posts for electrical engineers, mechanical fitters, contract managers and a new contracts director. The contract secured by S&B has a potential value of up to 25m over the next five years.

Keith Swales, the managing director, said: "This is by far the biggest contract in S&B Utilities' history. We have worked for Yorkshire Water for 15 years...carrying out small civil engineering jobs and this contract is the fruition of the many successful projects we have delivered during that time.

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"As well as enabling us to create badly-needed jobs in the local economy, this contract is important for supporting the growth of the business during the next five years."

S&B Utilities, founded in 2002, succeeded an earlier business, S&B Construction. The company changed ownership in 2006 with a management buyout (MBO), which was also funded by Yorkshire Bank North Yorkshire FSC.

The MBO was led by Mr Swales and his son, Darren Swales, the senior contracts director, and Karen Blackwood, the finance director and company secretary.

Andy Hay, Yorkshire Bank Harrogate FSC business partner, who arranged the funding for S&B Utilities, said: "Yorkshire Bank has committed to lending 2bn to Yorkshire businesses during the next two years."