Oxfordshire deal could net Carillion £700m

Carillion has been awarded a 10-year property and facilities-management contract for Oxfordshire County Council that could be worth up to £700m over its lifespan.

The support-services giant will provide routine property management, facilities management, energy management and capital works services for the county in a deal worth up to £500m over the course of the contract.

As part of the deal, a framework agreement allows other councils and public bodies - including health services - in Oxfordshire to procure the services Carillion provides for the county council potentially increasing the value of the contract by a further £200m.

Carillion has appointed Capita Symonds as a sub-consultant to deliver strategic asset management, estates management and multi-disciplinary design services, which are expected to generate approximately £42 million of revenue for Capita over the 10 years, with the potential for additional revenue from the framework agreement.

Chief executive Richard Howson said: “This builds upon Carillion’s strong track record in delivering integrated service solutions to Local and Central Government customers.  We will continue to work closely with Oxfordshire County Council to ensure we deliver high quality, value for money services to the people of the County”.

Dave Spencer, executive director at Capita Symonds, said the business had an excellent track record of improving local services and creating jobs through local authority partnerships across the UK.

“We are also looking forward to partnering once again with Carillion with whom we have a highly successful record of service and project delivery,” he said.

Huw Jones, Oxfordshire’s director for environment and economy, said the authority had seen an opportunity to the opportunity to combine a number of contracts to provide comprehensive services that would be more cost effective.”

The council expects to achieve revenue savings of a minimum £550,000 per year as a result of the contract, which can be extended for a further decade at the end of its initial run.

Carillion will take on the council’s schools catering business and in-house cleaning service as part of the new contract, with the transfer of over 700 staff.