SBS SECURES MAJOR RETROFIT CONTRACT TO UPGRADE MORE THAN 3,000 PA HOUSING HOMES
The UK’s social housing retrofit market is entering a new phase of scale and urgency as principal contractor Sustainable Building Services Ltd (SBS) secured a major contract to deliver energy efficiency upgrades across more than 3,000 PA Housing properties spanning the south of England and the Midlands.
The four-year programme positions SBS at the centre of one of the country’s largest regional retrofit drives as housing providers face mounting pressure to improve energy performance, reduce household costs and meet tightening decarbonisation targets.
The contract, awarded through Fusion21’s Whole House Decarbonisation Framework, will be delivered via the government-backed Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 programme, alongside additional client investment.
For SBS, the deal represents another significant step in the rapid expansion of the UK retrofit sector, where contractors capable of delivering large-scale, PAS-compliant decarbonisation programmes are becoming increasingly important to both government policy and housing association strategy.
Established in 1976, SBS is currently delivering retrofit projects with a combined value exceeding £200 million, generating an estimated 50 million kWh of annual household energy savings.
The company’s latest appointment underlines the scale of transformation now taking place across Britain’s ageing housing stock as the government pushes towards its target of decarbonising five million homes by 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan.
Under the PA Housing programme, thousands of homes will be upgraded to EPC Band C or above through a broad package of retrofit measures including external, internal and cavity wall insulation, loft and flat roof insulation, solar panel installation, ventilation improvements and replacement windows and doors.
The scale of the works reflects the increasingly comprehensive nature of retrofit delivery, where projects are moving beyond isolated energy upgrades towards whole-house decarbonisation strategies designed to improve long-term efficiency, health outcomes and resident comfort.
PA Housing — formerly Paragon Astra Housing — owns more than 23,000 homes across London, the South East and the Midlands, making it one of the UK’s largest housing providers.
Steve Roberts, Regional Director at SBS, said the programme would place residents’ long-term wellbeing at the centre of delivery.
“We’re thrilled to begin working with PA Housing, one of the foremost providers of housing services in the country,” he said.
“At SBS we never lose sight of our guiding motivation: the people whose houses we want to help improve. These upcoming retrofit works will be led by residents’ real needs – designed to reduce their energy bills and ensure their future comfort and wellbeing.”
The emphasis on resident outcomes reflects growing recognition within the housing sector that retrofit programmes are no longer simply environmental projects, but increasingly tied to fuel poverty, public health and long-term housing resilience.
All installations within the programme will be delivered to PAS 2030:2023 and MCS standards, ensuring compliance with Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) requirements.
The contract also highlights the increasing consolidation of the retrofit market around specialist contractors with the operational scale, compliance capability and technical expertise required to manage complex multi-region programmes.
Roberts said the award represented a major milestone in SBS’s continued regional growth strategy.
“This is a pivotal contract for SBS, as we continue our growth across the south and the Midlands,” he said.
“It is indicative of our capability to lead large-scale, high-quality retrofit programmes wherever they are needed most – and this contract puts us at the heart of an exciting new chapter for retrofit in multiple regions.”
The award comes as retrofit activity accelerates across the UK housing sector amid rising energy costs, evolving ESG requirements and growing pressure on housing providers to modernise older housing stock at scale.
For many housing associations, the challenge is no longer whether to retrofit, but how quickly programmes can be delivered while maintaining quality, compliance and resident trust.
