The KCD and Agility joint ventures are expected to start in April 2015 and the deals will run for up to 15 years.

Both teams were chosen following a rigorous procurement process involving 130 assessors from 17 Thames Water departments over the last three months.

Thames Water managing director of wholesale water, Bob Collington, said:  “Agility and KCD will join the Thames Water family, working alongside us and our other partners in to deliver our AMP6 programme and beyond.

“We strongly believe these two alliances will create aligned goals and objectives throughout the supply chain, standing us in the best possible position to deliver our customer and stakeholder promises.”

Drew Ritchie, Agility Alliance director, said:  “Agility is delighted to have been awarded this long-term strategic relationship with Thames Water, together with our new alliance partner KCD.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with Thames Water to drive up standards in safety, further improve customer service and deliver efficiencies through innovation, sustainability and best practice.”

Paul Fletcher, KCD director, added:  “This is an excellent opportunity for our combined teams to leverage the wide range of skills and the strong track record that we have collectively built up in the sector.

“The alliance should provide an innovative and forward-thinking way to deliver comprehensive asset management services; enabling Thames Water to maximise the performance of its network, so we are very much looking forward to starting work with them.”

Targets for AMP6 include reducing leakage and enhancing the service Thames Water offers its 9 million water customers across London and the Thames Valley.

On top of water networks and developer services, there is optional scope to add further strands in the future, including metering and waste water network activity.