Land Securities Trillium and former joint venture partner William Pears Group are going head to head in the battle for a £1.5bn outsourcing contract.
The listed property company and family property empire, which together won the BT contract in 2001, are both through to the next round of bidding for the Northern Ireland Civil Service outsourcing.
The market for such deals has so far been tight, with only LST and Mapeley winning contracts, but a total of five parties are through to the interview stage, which started on Thursday.
William Pears is bidding as Telereal, its former joint venture with LST, which it now wholly owns. The terms of the jv had previously prevented Telereal, now headed by chief executive Graham Edwards, from competing with LST.
The other shortlisted bidders are Mapeley, Northern Irish group McAleer & Rushe, and Interserve with the development arm of Ireland’s Lagan.
“This proves that there is more competition in the market,” said a source in the sector. “There has been a lot of concern that contracts would not come because there was not enough competition.”
The deal covers more than 2.7m sq ft of property. Some 56 freeholds valued at £200m will be sold and lease liabilities on 24 properties transferred. A second phase could see a further 122 buildings transferred. It will include facilities management across the entire estate.
The government aims to award the contract in December, and is expected to draw up a shortlist of three bidders by April. Drivers Jonas and Deloitte are advising.
William Pears results, p42
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Mapeley, which owns the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise estates and the Abbey portfolio, has been appointed to source, fit out and manage a new network of 69 leasehold passport offices. The five-year contract is with the UK Passport Service, part of the Home Office, which needs the offices to roll out the government’s new system of identity cards and passports. |
