Under the terms of the contract, Speedy will act as National Grid’s managing agent in order to supply and coordinate all hired plant and equipment needs for work on gas and electricity networks.

The huge contract will use both Speedy’s own fleet and through sourcing, co-ordination and management of third party service providers.

The deal comes into force next month and will be rolled out in phases. There is also an option to extend the arrangement for a further two years.

During the first twelve months the principal activity will be to carry out an initial audit of National Grid’s hire requirements, its network and in-house hire fleet, which are currently in place to meet these needs.

The contract will involve a gradual transfer of activity which is expected to reach peak transition levels in about eighteen months, with a second potential phase focused on taking over the management of National Grid’s own assets.

David Harris, commercial director, UK of Speedy, said “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract to manage the provision of hired plant and equipment for National Grid.

“This was secured after a rigorous tender process assessing not only value for money, but also the quality and breadth of Speedy’s managed services offering across a large number of criteria including operating systems, management processes, SHEQ# and service capability.”