Story and M Group Services scoop spots on £500m water framework

Story Contracting and M Group Services are among 30 contractors named on a bumper framework in the North West of England.

The client, United Utilities, said the £500m minor works framework represents the region’s “largest proposed investment in water and wastewater infrastructure for more than a century”.

Story Contracting and Morrison Water Services – part of M Group Services – are included among the 20 civils construction partners (see full list below), while the other 10 firms chosen specialise in mechanical and electrical installation. 

The framework, which spans 2025 until 2030, will specifically focus on smaller county-based schemes that could include things like supporting plans for standardisation across the water network, installing storm overflow solutions and improving process treatment facilities across the region.

United Utilities capital delivery director Jane Simpson said the firms chosen by United Utilities would bring a “wealth of regional experience to help us deliver quickly for customers in each of our five counties”.

“We’ll work collaboratively with these partners with a shared vision for the North West, which includes setting up apprenticeships and skills academies as part of our long-term growth plans,” she added.

In August, Morrison Water Services was also named in a bumper framework in the South of England, worth £3.7bn.

M Group Services was sold to a Luxembourg-based private equity firm in June. According to the 2024 CN100 ranking, it is the tenth largest contractor in the UK.

Story Contracting is the 75th biggest contractor in Britain, after its turnover increased by more than a quarter to £226.8m in the year to 31 March 2023. But the firm’s pre-tax profit dropped by 70 per cent to £2.7m during the same period.