A Birmingham hostel that supports the city’s homeless is benefitting from high-efficiency heating and hot water after being donated a new boiler by leading commercial heating manufacturer Remeha.

For over 30 years, St Anne’s Hostel has provided around-the-clock housing, healthcare, food and support for homeless men over 25 years of age. The hostel provides a safe and secure alternative to life on the streets and has assisted many to return to normal lives. A registered charity with no government funding, it relies on corporate support and fundraising activities to carry out its work.

So when the 20-year-old boiler serving the 35-bed hostel began to fail, there was no budget in place despite the urgent need for a replacement.

“As a hostel, St Anne’s has a high, constant demand for heating and hot water that the old boiler just couldn’t meet,” said Bob Candlin, fundraiser at St Anne’s. “It was always on full blast and frequently broke down. We needed to act fast.”

St Anne’s servicing and maintenance engineers GEP Services Ltd suggested approaching Remeha for support.

“We recommended Remeha as we’re familiar with the brand and impressed with the easy installation and maintenance of its products,” said Stuart Moore, Operational Manager at GEP Services.

Remeha immediately came to St Anne’s aid with a new, energy-saving boiler replacement. They recommended installing the market-leading Quinta Pro 115 condensing boiler as this would provide future capacity for additional radiators to meet the hostel’s demand.

James Porter, Sales Director at Remeha said: “The fantastic work St Anne’s Hostel does for those most in need in our society is nothing short of inspiring. Remeha is committed to Corporate Social Responsibility, so we were pleased to be able to support them in this way.”

With the new Quinta Pro boiler now installed and fully operational, the Hostel is enjoying plentiful hot water and looking forward to providing a warm, comfortable environment in the colder months ahead.

St Anne’s Hostel is delighted with the outcome as the new boiler has provided support on multiple fronts. Mark Orbell, St Anne’s Manager explained:

“As a charity, our aim is to operate sustainably and we work hard to use every donation as effectively as possible. The new Remeha boiler is twice as efficient as our old boiler, making it far more economical to run and bringing welcome savings on operating costs.”

Bob Candlin said: “The response from Remeha has been brilliant. Not only did they turn this round in 48 hours, but we now have a new “win-win” heating system that is both more reliable and more affordable to operate. We simply couldn’t have asked for more.”

Caption:  Mark Orbell, manager of St Anne's Hostel; Stuart Moore of GEP Services; Will Jones Remeha's area sales manager for the West Midlands