Support services company, Enterprise, is to buy fellow local government contractor, Accord, for an undisclosed amount. Enterprise announced last week that it had reached a conditional agreement to merge with Accord, and the deal is expected to be completed by the end of September. The combined company will be the largest supplier of maintenance services to local authorities in the UK. The two companies have a combined annual revenue of £1.1bn, with Enterprise earning around £800m and Accord bringing in about £300m a year. Enterprise provides IT systems for several authorities, including Liverpool City Council, Wolverhampton City Council, BT and Thames Water. Accord offers maintenance services for a number of social housing organisations and councils, including Oxfordshire CC, Gloucester City Council, Transport for London and the Highways Agency. Among services the new company will offer are highway maintenance, streetscene, refuse and environmental, social housing maintenance and business process re-engineering. Customers will also benefit from the wider use of Enterprise's bespoke WorkManager IT system. In a joint statement, the two companies said: ‘The sustainability agenda is integrated into our contracts and has its delivery underpinned through the Enterprise Foundation, which supports local communities and creates local jobs and numerous Accord initiatives. We will continue to work with our customers to deliver value-added, high-quality public services which not only meet national key performance indicators, but also deliver locally-based agendas for sustainable communities.' Earlier this year (The MJ, 14 March) Accord bought Jarvis' stake in highways business Accord Jarvis. The joint venture company was renamed Accord Network Management and became wholly owned by Accord. Enterprise was subject to a management buy-out in March, which was backed by the private equity group 3i.
