British Gas has said that it is recruiting staff in the West Midlands for a new insulation business to capitalise on a market expected to be worth £1.4 billion by 2015.

The utility giant is hiring 190 staff across the Midlands, with plans to roll out the service within a year.

It already offers loft and cavity wall insulation but only through external contractors and wants to bring the work in-house to capture a slice of the surge in demand.

Last year, British Gas insulated 270,000 loft and cavity walls through its existing external contractor service.

The domestic UK insulation market is forecast to more than double from the current £600 million a year within three years under Government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34% within 10 years compared to the level seen in 1990.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said last year that the Government’s ambition was to provide cavity wall and loft insulation for all suitable properties by 2015.

British Gas said it was looking to recruit cavity wall insulation technicians, loft insulation technicians, team managers, energy experts and also some roles for planning and support.

British Gas said: “We are aiming to bring this in-house as part of a much wider push to build our energy efficiency and services business, adding additional expertise and value as demand is set to increase rapidly.”