The expansion drive will see 50 new jobs created throughout the year and boost Pimlico’s workforce of skilled trades people and support staff to 240.

The firm is currently handling in excess of 2,000 jobs a week and is receiving a growing number of enquiries from new customers in the outlying Greater London area up to the borders of the M25.

The number of installations for central heating systems, bathrooms and kitchen appliances remains strong for the first quarter of 2011.

But it is a sizeable increase in the number of response maintenance and emergency calls outs that are generating the increased workload.

The recruitment drive follows on from Pimlico Plumbers’ recent sales growth, which saw the company achieve six month sales of £7.8m for the period June to November 2010 – up 7% on 2009.

Charlie Mullins, Managing Director of Pimlico Plumbers, said: “Demand for our services has continued to grow at a constant rate in the past year, which has created the need for these new recruits.

“The challenge will be finding suitably skilled engineers to fill the roles. If 40-odd top class engineers walked in off the street today I’d hire them on the spot. It isn’t going to happen like that of course. There is a growing skills gap in our sector between the older, experienced engineers and a decreasing number of new entrants.

“However, in the current jobs market people are more willing to travel to find work. We have engineers who travel in to London from across the South East every day so I am confident we’ll hit our 25 percent recruitment target for this year. Another 50 staff will make a real difference and take the business to the next level.”