Mapeley wins Revenue PFI contract
Mapeley, a consortium of 10 companies and financiers, has won the right to own and manage the estates of the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise for the next 20 years.
The winning consortium is headed by Soros Real Estate, a property company owned by billionaire financier George Soros.
The other companies include Fortress Investment Corporation, Halifax, DTZ Debenham Thorpe, Delancey, EDS, Aqumen Group, McLellan International and Coflex. Mapeley will take over the responsibility of running 600 buildings scattered throughout the UK, totalling 1.5m square meters, in the biggest PFI yet.
Under the terms of the ‘Strategic Transfer of Estate to the Private Sector’ agreement, Mapeley will provide both departments with serviced accommodation, and will also have the responsibility for developing innovative solutions to meet their property needs.
The contract is expected to commence on 2 April, following a tender process to find a PFI partner began on 30 March 1999.
PFIs have become the main method of providing capital to build public amenities. Many hospitals and schools have been built using the procurement strategy though it has proved controversial.
Last year a wave of collapsed PFI deals followed criticism from a Commons Treasury committee that PFI deals were not being adequately accounted for in financial reports.
Links
PFI/PPP deals can aid public sector
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