LHC Procurement Group (LHCPG) has appointed 155 contractors to its £2.34bn Public Buildings Construction and Infrastructure (PB4) framework, establishing a procurement route for public-sector building and infrastructure projects across England, Scotland and Wales.
LHCPG is a not-for-profit organisation that provides procurement frameworks for public-sector construction projects.
The four-year framework succeeds the previous PB3 arrangement and covers five workstreams: new-build construction, refurbishment, civil infrastructure, combined new-build and refurbishment projects, and hard facilities management.
Public sector clients are managing a difficult combination of ageing assets, maintenance pressures and stringent safety and regulatory requirements
For the first time, the framework includes a dedicated hard facilities management workstream, giving public-sector organisations access to suppliers for the ongoing maintenance of buildings and their technical systems.
Around 75% of the appointed suppliers are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the remaining places awarded to larger national and regional contractors.
The framework is intended to support public-sector organisations managing ageing estates, maintenance requirements and the need to upgrade existing buildings, while providing a procurement route for new developments and infrastructure projects.
Framework scope
PB4 is divided into 10 lots across five workstreams, with construction projects categorised by value.
The first workstream covers new-build projects, with contracts valued up to £1m and between £1m and £2.5m.
The second covers refurbishment projects within the same value bands.
The third workstream covers civil infrastructure, with projects valued up to £2.5m and those exceeding £2.5m.
The fourth combines new-build construction, refurbishment and associated services, covering projects valued between £2.5m and £10m, £10m and £25m, and above £25m.
The fifth and final workstream covers hard facilities management across all project values.
The construction scope includes new public buildings, extensions, refurbishment and restoration of existing properties, including listed buildings. Associated civil engineering works can include demolition, site preparation, highways, drainage and utilities.
The hard facilities management workstream extends the framework beyond capital projects to include the maintenance of public buildings and their fixed infrastructure.
Public-sector organisations can access appointed suppliers through direct award or further competition, depending on the relevant procurement requirements.
Appointed contractors
The 155 appointed contractors include national construction groups, regional building firms and specialist suppliers.
Among the larger construction companies appointed are Galliford Try, Kier, Morgan Sindall Construction, Tilbury Douglas, Willmott Dixon, VINCI Construction UK, Farrans, Robertson Construction Group, McLaughlin & Harvey and McPhillips.
Other appointed contractors include Baxall Construction, Beard, GMI Construction Group, Guildmore, Heron Bros, Kori Construction and Neilcott Construction.
Several of the appointed companies have experience delivering healthcare infrastructure projects.
Galliford Try, which secured a place on all 10 lots of the framework, is involved in the government's New Hospital Programme.
Willmott Dixon is delivering the new Emergency Care Building at Derriford Hospital, while McLaughlin & Harvey has delivered a Community Diagnostic Centre in Braintree.
The appointments provide public-sector clients with access to contractors with different project capabilities and geographical coverage, from smaller refurbishment schemes to major building and infrastructure projects.
Social value and procurement
LHCPG said the framework also incorporates social value requirements, with contractors expected to demonstrate wider economic, environmental and community benefits through projects awarded under the arrangement.
As a not-for-profit procurement organisation, LHCPG reinvests a proportion of its surpluses through its Community Benefit Fund and partner charities Lintel Trust and Lifting Lives.
"Public sector clients are managing a difficult combination of ageing assets, maintenance pressures and stringent safety and regulatory requirements,” said Graham Collie, Director of Product Innovation at LHCPG.
He added that public bodies need access to contractors able to keep buildings safe, compliant and performing effectively beyond the point of construction or refurbishment.
The framework will operate for four years, providing a procurement route for public-sector organisations commissioning building, refurbishment, infrastructure and maintenance work.
