Sunderland-based housing association, Gentoo Group has agreed a deal which will see some of its homes undergo a series of varied upgrades. Regeneration specialist ENGIE has been appointed to deliver £16 million worth of work, including a variety of modernisation and safety improvement work across a number of Gentoo buildings, as well as the installation of new gas-condensing, energy-efficient combination boilers and associated works to 1,000 properties in Washington as part of a district heating upgrade.

These works form part of Gentoo's wider £317m investment programme across its 29,000 home portfolio.


Lee Francis, Area Director at ENGIE, said: "Resident welfare is at the core of all these projects and it is important that all households feel safe and secure in their homes.

"We have a skilled team and vast experience in regeneration, which is further enhanced by our fantastic partnership with Gentoo. We have demonstrated our extensive abilities, with a number of projects already being delivered by us on Gentoo’s behalf. We're currently re-roofing properties and repairing gable walls across thousands of properties in Houghton le Spring and Sunderland, whilst also installing Ground Source Heat Pumps, an innovative source of renewable energy, to seven tower blocks in Sunderland."

Conan McKinley, Director of Asset Strategy at Gentoo, added: "We're really pleased to continue our partnership with ENGIE and look forward to seeing the successful delivery of some really key projects over the coming months."

All work will be completed with residents in occupation and ENGIE will work openly and closely with Gentoo customers throughout the duration of the projects to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

(CM/JG)