An Oxford building firm has won a contract that could be worth up to £50m over the next five years.

DW Contractors, based in Watlington Road, Cowley, has secured the deal from the London Area Procurement Network.

The work will involve painting and refurbishing up to 175,000 local authority homes in London. Managing director David Exley said: "The potential is huge.

"This is a great achievement for us and a deserved reward for all the hard work of the staff. It represents a significant expansion opportunity for the company."

The Oxford office is due to grow rapidly to handle the expected flood of work. Mr Exley said he was looking to recruit another 10 staff for the first scheme under the agreement, a £2.7m contract from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The firm is one of more than 25 contractors which have been signed up under the LAPN in a bid to save 10 London boroughs millions of pounds on housing maintenance contracts over the next five years through greater efficiency.

But it is one of just three in the maintenance and decorating section to have been selected out of 44 applicants in a process that has taken a year to come to fruition.

As a result of the deal, Mr Exley is hoping to double the £11m turnover of the firm which he set up 24 years ago.

DW Contractors currently employs about 95 fulltime staff in Oxford with a further 40 at its London base. Gordon Perry, chairman of the LAPN, said: "It's brilliant news for us and for our tenants and leaseholders.

"They will benefit from these savings with improved services and lower bills than they would have received otherwise."