BETHELL Group, a £75-million-turnover building, infrastructure and support services company based in Bolton, has won new partnership contracts worth £10 million from public sector organisations over the last three months.

And the new work could lead to the creation of up to 15 new apprenticeship opportunities.

The public-private-partnerships involve a new £7 million contract from Chester and District Housing Trust for more than 2,000 replacement kitchens and a £3 million library refurbishment contract from Staffordshire County Council.

The Chester contract includes the use of a mobile showroom with a selection of kitchen components for Trust residents to choose from.

Bethell was one of the first private organisations in the country to sign private-public partnership contracts through deals with Northern Counties Housing Association, which owns 20,000 properties throughout the northern half of England and Wales, and Vale Royal Borough Council in Cheshire.

The Chester contract was won in a six-month competition involving nine separate building contractors who were judged according to criteria based on service quality and price.

A short list of three was eventually invited to make a full presentation to a selection panel.

The Staffordshire County Council contract involved an equally rigorous selection procedure with more than 20 private companies competing against each other.

"The Government has made it clear that it believes strongly in the benefits of public-private-sector-partnerships," said Allan Tilbrook, Bethell Building Services managing director.

"These include better value for money, more predictable progress, and increased client satisfaction. Both Staffs and Chester Housing Trust responded by selecting a private partner initially on the basis of quality with cost only brought into play at the final stage.

"As a well-established building and facilities management company with a great deal of public sector experience, we are looking to establish a reputation with local authorities and other public bodies as a safe pair of hands, particularly as we employ all our own labour.

"The Chester and District Housing Trust contract is being monitored against key performance indicators such as speed of completion, customer satisfaction, quality of work, cost, health and safety, and environmental impact to ensure continuous improvement throughout the life of the contract. We welcome such stringent working criteria. We like to be judged by results."