The office will be staffed by between 10 and 20 people

Contractor Morgan Sindall has opened an office in Cumbria in order to bid for nuclear and regeneration work in the area.

The office, to be headed by Andy Crowder, utility services strategic and business development director, is based in Whitehaven, and will initially be staffed with a team of between 10 and 20 people.

Morgan Sindall is bidding to be the supplier for the £1.1bn 15-year Infrastructure Strategic Alliance contract for the Sellafield nuclear power station, West Cumbria.

Graham Shennan, managing director at Morgan Sindall, said Sellafield is due to decide on the contract by the end of January. If successful, the company could have in excess of £100m turnover a year coming through the Cumbria office.

However, Shennan said the firm, which has offices in Manchester and Liverpool serving the North-west, had made the commitment to the area whether the firm won the contract or not. “We think we’ve got a good chance for this contract, given our experience, our commitment to the area and to employing local people.”

Shennan said Morgan Sindall was also looking at regeneration, PFI, housing and local authority work in the region, with interest from the council in setting up joint ventures on the Local Authority Asset-Backed Vehicle (LABV) model.