The scheme is a 50/50 Joint Venture with the council. It is not yet fully clear what this will mean for the partnership with Mears. These Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs) made no profit and recruited and trained people to maintain the housing stock. Arlington, Texas. For example, subsidiary vehicle that could deliver funding over 30. Cllr Wood said Sheffield, too, was prioritising inspections of asylum houses and concentrating resources there. We are honoured to be a recognised City of Sanctuary; part of a network of towns and cities throughout the country that are proud to be places of safety, and which include people seeking sanctuary fully in the lives of their communities. Our role is in liaison with these private contractors to try and ensure that they can respond to local circumstances and to then manage the move-on arrangements when people are granted refugee status. For general enquiries contact our office at: Serco Limited Enterprise House . At the end of 2017, Omega managed around 1,000 properties, and Plexus over 1,700. Read more about our complaints process, here. In Yorkshire and the North East, Mears is replacing G4S whose asylum housing has been notorious for squalor, infestations, and scandal when racist vigilantes attacked homes whose doors had been painted an identical red colour. But there may also be something more. Mears has been awarded contracts for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber. The Guardian understands that the private housing provider Mears, which is subcontracted by the Home Office, has moved more than 300 people from mainly self-contained apartments into hotels over . Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm Grandview, MO Smith, and executive director Alan Long are also Mears stalwarts, having worked at the company for 18 and 12 years respectively. John Taylor, Chief Operating Officer of Mears said: Mears provides housing and care to many thousands of people all across the UK, including some who are vulnerable. In September, the Mears Group, an outsourcing company working in housing management and home care,became theUKs biggest refugee landlord, starting three 10-year asylum accommodation contracts from the Home Office worth a total 1.15 billion. The AASC contracts, which will replace the existing COMPASS contracts, have an approximate value of 4 billion and are for 10 years. Click on the heading below to go straight to a section: Mears is one of the UKs biggest maintenance and repairs contractors, working on over 650,000 homes for councils and housing associations. A council spokesperson said Mears were unable to maintain the high standards we demand of our contractors, and also found elements of the contract commercially challenging.. opportunity that fits your companys profile, a representative will reach out to you for How does Terraquest fit into Mears strategy? Plain City, OH The roles of national and local governmentSupport for Asylum SeekersSupport after a decision on your asylum claimSupport for Refugees This division still makes up over three quarters of Mears housing business. Houston, Texas 77008. But for Mears, this will mean taking one of its main competitors out of the game. . Since September, there have been continual massive delays in the passing on of tenants requests for repairs from Migrant Help to Mears, which Migrant Help puts down to teething problems and high demand. Residents on the first estate targeted, Fullers Slade, protested at being let down and ignored by YourMK. Overview. Call Children's Panel if you're a child in . This model of local public provision was attacked by Conservative and Labour governments from the 1980s on. The trade union Unite announced victory in its strike over a pay dispute with Mears in Manchester in February 2018. These items are required to enable basic website functionality. National government determines immigration status and whether or not an asylum seeker is accepted. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. Mears shares are bought and sold on the London Stock Exchange. A landlord with a long history of providing asylum housing for Home Office contracts told me, Only two or three existing asylum housing landlords have signed contracts with Mears in the whole of South Yorkshire. Mears financial health at first glance appears solid. 4500 North Mission Road Rosebush, Michigan 48878, Unmatched Capabilities across North America and beyond, Underground Utility and Infrastructure Solutions, Service renewal, meter, piping and relight services, Turnkey, engineer, procure andconstruct (EPC), New construction, integrity andmaintenance services, Fault Locate & Repair (primary/secondary/street light), Cable Installation/Replacement (URDDB / Network ), Cable Splicing 4kV 69kV Transformer & Switch Installation, Conduit/Duct Bank Installation and repair, Full Service crossbore inspection and location of all storm and sanitary lines, Industry leading lateral launch inspection equipment, 100% of footage is reviewed by offsite auditors, Proprietary T.C.A.T. brand of power transmission tower and pipeline inspection services, risk analysis, and real-time data reporting. Contact Information . We have a local group in E16 representing Mears tenants who feel conned and let down by this company. As part of the contract, Mears will be responsible for the upkeep of thousands of homes occupied by asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be processed. The company paid out 52 million out to its shareholders over the last five years, while CEO David Miles made 443,000 last year over 20 times the average wage for Mears workers. Well send you a link to a feedback form. Advertising networks usually place them with the website operators permission. Don't forget, if you need to log a repair and it is not an emergency, it's much easier and quicker to do it online. United Kingdom, Email: contact[at]corporatewatch.org I knew the house well I had visited on each of the four previous occasions the families had been left without heating and hot water and this was the fifth time in two months the boiler had broken down. I have sued them as repairs are not carried out and rent is nearly 1000/month for council-owned properties that Mears have leased out. But these all depend on increased local authority funding, which is hard to predict with any confidence. Most of Mears contracts are with cash-strapped local authorities. If you have refugee or humanitarian protection you may be able to apply to have your partner and/or child(ren) join you. However, the Mears board rejected SVMs attempt to replace him with Andy Hogarth, their preferred pick, saying board appointments should not be imposed on us by a single shareholder.. If that reputation takes a hit, and local authorities and housing associations are more reluctant to use the company, Mears finances would look a lot less secure. When I got through, they said they thought I was homeless and not in the hotel. They have no understanding of what asylum housing is about. Mears Living includes Plexus and Omega Housing and Mears Student Life. The Unity Centre in Glasgow and SYMAAG in Yorkshire are two groups actively supporting the struggle for decent housing for refugees. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Mears Group recognise our people as our greatest asset. David, the teenage son of the family who met me at the house, said, We have an electric shower, so we go and have a shower when we need to warm up. David was concerned about his sister: She has something like asthma, and the cold in the house means she has had colds and infections and time off school and had to go to hospital. In November, lone mother Ruths boiler failed for the first time. Report anti-social behaviour. I wish you good luck and the very best in your fight for a decent place to live Mears Group, which is being paid by the Home Office to tend to asylum seekers, denied the claims. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Asylum seekers need some care and support. Careers. It is important that you seek specialist support to help you consider your options. In circumstances such as these, their food is provided and they lose their 5.30 daily, which means they often cannot top up their phones to contact lawyers and family, or buy fresh . His replacement, Kieran Murphy, is an investment banker rather than a builder. The Mears home care business struggles to break even and to keep care workers, unsurprising given the infamously low rates of pay in the sector. At the time of writing, the YourMK website has been closed down, with a page announcing that information will be updated in April 2019. The contract began in 2016 and was set to last for up to 10 years. He is well connected in the university world, as a former director of City University and now of the University of London. The dispersal of 84 residents at an accommodation centre for asylum seekers without being tested for Covid-19 is putting lives at risk, campaigners say. . If it is out of hours (after 5.30pm or any time at a weekend) and you have nowhere to sleep please contact: 0191 278 7878 (Ask for the Emergency Homeless Officer). Murphy started his career as a Treasury civil servant in the 1980s before heading into the private sector working with German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort. The Mears Housing Group, an outsourcing company working in housing management and home care, are the UK's biggest refugee landlord, who have three 10-year asylum accommodation contracts from the Home Office worth a total 1.15 billion from when the contracts started. At the end of 2019, the accommodation estate was moved from one set of contracts to another. Migrant Help is a national service, funded by UKVI, providing free, independent advice and guidance to asylum seekers to help make claims for support and give general advice about the asylum process. As of 2017, Mears has the ability to borrow 170 million through those deals if required, plus a new 30 million pot it can access for its new scheme to buy property before selling them onto to long-term developers (see the housing section). Barnsley has been inspecting all the licensed HMOs which Mears has been using. The company agreed to raise and equalise wages after 80 days of strikes. Or do you have information on a company that you would like to share? We would also love to hear from you if you have any positive or constructive feedback to offer. MEA House In January 2015, North Lanarkshires Labour council hit a crisis, as one Labour councillor named Tommy Morgan was sacked from his role as chair of the audit and governance panel. I spent two months in another hotel and they only cleaned my room two or three times. I could not afford the move as I already paid over 7000 of my student loan to Mears as rent. They complain that the contracts with Mears are less favourable than the previous ones with G4S, giving them fewer rights and paying them less, which is one reason Mears have been able to procure only a few new properties in South Yorkshire, with none of the large landlords with many properties signing. In the five years between 2013-2017, Mears paid out 52 million in dividends, with the amount rising each year. The bread and butter business is winning council and housing association contracts for maintenance and repair work. In West and South Yorkshire there was a 13 percent increase in asylum seekers in accommodation, from 5,198 to 5,865, in around 1,500 properties. Share on: Mears has been awarded three new government contracts to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers. So, what next for Mears? According to this document, Mears approach combines maintenance, housing management and asset management in deals that are bigger and more complex, with potential for higher margin and some opportunities secured outside competitive process (we are not exactly sure what that last phrase means). They said they had not tracked where I was., As I left him Terry said, I think I am going to volunteer with a food bank, maybe I can persuade them to bring food for the children here.. A court case challenging the evictions is currently in progress. It alleged Holt who cut his business teeth working for notorious Tory donor Lord Ashcroft had continually failed to challenge the status quo of deteriorating results, a stagnant share price and faded shareholder value. We are committed to providing meaningful careers in engineering and construction services for the oil and natural gas, electric and telecom industries. Mears other big government tender was less successful. 41.9 million (2016) Number of employees. Complaints in Parliament and in the media. VIEW AVAILABLE POSITIONS. Call Freephone: 0800 170 7008 or email: housingadvicecentre@newcastle.gov.uk. It has recently won the 1.15 billion Home Office contract to provide asylum seeker housing in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Yorkshire and the North East of England. Mears Group plc is a housing and social care provider. Things got even worse for the deal in October 2018. This storage is often necessary for the basic functionality of the website. Founded in 1996, Mears is . For more information about Newcastle:City of Sanctuary and the partners involved please visit City of Sanctuary. Another was pushing councils to contract out repairs and other services to the private sector. Mayfair-based PrimeStone Capital describes itself as working constructively with management and stakeholders to create long term enduring value. Primestone was founded by Franck Falezan, Benot Colas and Jean-Pierre Millet, three financiers previously with The Carlyle Group, a major US venture capital firm. We provide affordable homes to renters and shared owners across the UK - from individuals in need of a temporary home, to families looking to put down roots in an area longer term. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. However, Mears two biggest shareholders see themselves as activist investors that involve themselves in the running of their companies. 2020, when 7 Scottish MPs cited "no confidence" in the "evaluation" into the impact of Covid-19 on asylum-seekers, with the group walking out of a meeting with government officials, and supporting calls for a full independent inquiry . Mears Group plc ( LON:MER ) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. While this is a big new income source for Mears, asylum landlords have not always had an easy ride financially. I think the job of a local council is to do its best to make sure that all its residents have safe and decent homes to live in., A crisis for asylum housing tenants in Mears housing in South Yorkshire. . The IAC for Yorkshire and the North East is Urban House in Wakefield. Goodwill amounts to over 40% of Mears total assets a bigger proportion than Interserve and Mitie, slightly less than Serco and Capita. NE1 6SQ. In January 2019 Mears won its biggest deal yet 1.15 billion worth of asylum housing contracts with the Home Office. After all costs were taken off, Mears profits were over 20 million each year between 2014 and 2017, and solidly above 10 million in the years before that.