Derbyshire Council Council offices – Shutterstock
Vertas Group Limited has created a joint venture with Derbyshire County Council.
The newly formed partnership, Vertas Derbyshire Limited, consists of about 1,000 new colleagues, expanding Vertas Group to a workforce of 4,000 across Great Britain.
The venture will provide cleaning and caretaking services to more than 450 sites across Derbyshire, from local authority schools and academies, to libraries and public amenities.
Councillor Angelique Foster, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for corporate services, said: “I’m pleased to see that these services have successfully transferred to the new joint venture company. This is a key part of our enterprising council approach and will offer a much better future for these services, and best value for money for council taxpayers.
“After considering all our options last year we set this joint venture company with Suffolk County Council as they have a strong track record with facilities management. All decisions will be made by both parties, and any profits made will be jointly shared.
“Transferring these services to this commercial company which is wholly owned by the public sector is the best possible option for these services which provide vital support directly to the council as well as to a range of other organisations, including Derbyshire schools.”