黑洞社区

A heavyweight joint venture between Gleeds, Aecom and Pick Everard is being lined up for Scape鈥檚 拢350m consultancy framework, 黑洞社区 understands.

The JV has beaten off competition from four others including Mace, Turner & Townsend and the previous holder of its consultancy framework Faithful+Gould, who this time around teamed up with Arcadis, Bilfinger GVA and Grant Thornton to bid after Scape set a turnover threshold of 拢125m per annum for bidders. The other bidder was Norse Group, a consultant wholey-owned by Norfolk County Council.

Multiple market sources told 黑洞社区 the Gleeds-led team had pipped its rivals for the framework, with a winner expected to be confirmed by the end of this month.

Scape and Pick Everard declined to comment. 黑洞社区 has contacted Gleeds and Aecom for comment.

The four-year Built Environment Consultancy Services (BECS) framework will be open for use by all public sector clients and will cover project management, quantity surveying, architecture, engineering services and strategic asset management.

Scape describes the BECS framework as 鈥渘ew鈥�, but it in effect replaces its existing Asset Management, Survey and Design Services framework, which is held by Faithful+Gould and expires at the end of this September.

Gleeds, Pick Everard and Aecom said on entering the race for the framework in December that the joint venture between them would offer 鈥渁 unique range of framework experience with a 鈥榖est in breed鈥� complimentary skill set鈥�.

鈥淪mall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will form the vast majority of our supply chain, with specialist international consultants also engaged to provide clients with the broadest range of services,鈥� the trio added.

The firms have worked together before for clients including Sellafield, the Education Funding Agency and Kent County council.

Scape runs a number of frameworks and .

Unlike Scape鈥檚 existing major works agreement, held solely by Willmott Dixon, the latest version will be split into five lots and appoint a lead contractor to each one.

Meanwhile the other major public sector consultancy framework from the government鈥檚 buying arm, the Crown Commercial Service, is being procured later this year after suffering repeated delays.

The 拢2.9bn flagship Project Management and Full Design Team Service framework had been expected to launch this month.