Gloucester success story Mears Group has been given a seal of approval by the government.

The social housing company has been named as a supplier by Crown Commercial Service - the executive agency and trading fund of the Cabinet Office.

The company, based on Gloucester Business Park in Brockworth, has been added to its Facilities Management and Workplace Services framework.

The system helps the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring goods and services, increasing savings for the taxpayer. In 2020/21 this resulted in commercial benefits equal to £2.04billion.

Being added to it means Mears can tender for contracts across a range of government departments and public sector organisations to provide support with services such as workplace facilities management, maintenance, security, and cleaning.

It is the latest feather in Mears' cap.

Started as a maintenance contractor in 1988, the firm has gone from a portacabin in Gloucester to a staff of 6,500 employees, providing and managing 17,000 homes for local and central government across the country.

It is also responsible for keeping 750,000 social housing homes in the UK in good repair.

In 2020 the company was named in The Sunday Times Top 25 Best Big Companies to Work For list.

Kevin Woodcock, managing director of Mears Group, said: " We're really proud to have won our place on this vital Framework delivering services throughout the UK.

"We look forward to working alongside Crown Commercial Services and their clients to achieve great solutions and outcomes for their buildings and properties."