The three companies will take responsibility for day-to-day repairs and improvement work on council house and flats, and prepare empty homes for new tenants. The contracts include planned maintenance programmes such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades. Wates will manage more than 30,000 homes in the north and south of Birmingham, Equans 17,000 homes in the east of Birmingham, and Mears 11,500 in the central and west of Birmingham. Wates said that its contract was worth £1.1bn over the initial 10-year term; Mears’ is worth £450m. We are installing new kitchens and bathrooms, and cutting energy bills by making homes cheaper and easier to heat.