A £25M deal is set to bring a north Cumbrian company into South Lakeland and Furness.

Partnering in Property Management - a home repairs firm which has its headquarters in Carlisle, as well as offices and operations in Penrith, Workington and Leeds - has signed a seven-year contract with housing social enterprise the Home Group.

The area covered by this contract - worth an estimated £25.2m - extends from Penrith in the north to Millom, Barrow and across to the M6 motorway and covers approximately 1,500 homes.

As a result of the deal, PPM is looking for a location for a depot in the south of the county and also has plans to partner with Home Group to form apprenticeships and job opportunities for local residents

It also wants to work alongside community groups and charities within the area.

PPM’s managing director Gordon McGregor says: “The residents of Home Group, within South Lakes, can expect the company to apply a strong emphasis on ensuring local jobs for local people.

"The use of local suppliers and specialist subcontractors will also be paramount within the contract."

Margarita Morrison, Home Group director of maintenance, said: “We’re looking forward to working with PPM in our South Lakes area. Home Group is a national company but we’re very much connected with our neighbourhoods and we’re confident our customers will appreciate having work carried out on their homes by a company local to them.

“We were impressed with PPM’s commitment to customer service and getting the job right first time."

She added: "We’re grateful to Mears which had been carrying out repairs and maintenance in this area on a temporary basis during the last 12 months.”

This contract could be extended for another seven years.

PPM was selected following a tendering process that began in July last year.

It was assessed against a range of criteria including customer service, value for money and corporate social responsibility.

PPM was set up in 2002 and has clients in social housing, the wider public sector and private business.

It boasts that the staff in its offices are all from within a 20-mile radius.

Home Group is one of the largest housing organisations in the UK and provides accommodation for more than 120,000 people a year in 55,000 homes across 200 local authority areas.