Rivals being sounded out for another Lendlease scheme

The developer behind another scheme which Lendlease had been in the driving seat to win is understood to have begun approaching rivals about building it instead.

Up-for-sale Lendlease had been considered favourite for the job called the Dovetail Building in the City of London.

Designed by AHMM, the 23-storey scheme was given planning three years ago with Lendlease then brought in under a PCSA.

But Building understands that developer Brockton Everlast has contacted rival firms to look at pricing the job instead. Among the contractors believed to have been sounded out are Mace and Multiplex, with the value of the job thought to be around £400m.

The move by Brockton Everlast, which has been contacted for comment, follows that of development manager CO-RE which is currently running the rule over bids from Mace and Multiplex on its scheme to rebuild the former ITV Studios headquarters on London’s Southbank known as 72 Upper Ground.

The pair are due to find out soon who has won the scheme – more than two years after Lendlease beat Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O’Rourke to the work with the cost now believed to be around £500m from £400m.

In May, Lendlease’s Australian parent put the UK construction arm up for sale spooking a number of clients over the firm’s future and the following month former boss Simon Gorski admitted to Building that “one of two clients might pause” offering them new jobs while a buyer is found.

Gorski left the business at the end of July and has since been replaced by Dave Cadiot.

>> See also: Lendlease sale needs to happen quickly, boss admits, as buyers begin to make inquiries about contractor

>> See also: ‘I’m at a loss about what to make of it all’ – Will Lendlease disappear from UK construction, and what would that say about the state of the sector?

The Dovetail Building will be built at 115-123 Houndsditch close to Foggo Associates’ Can of Ham and a stone’s throw away from the cluster of towers on Bishopsgate.

The Houndsditch site is currently occupied by several low-rise buildings built in the 1980s.

AHMM describes the scheme as a “next generation office [that] responds to the strive for Net Zero carbon and the necessary thrive of a post-pandemic workplace”.

As well as office space, the scheme will include retail and café space as well as community space.

Others working on the job include cost consultant T&T Alinea, project manager Gardiner & Theobald and structural engineer AKT II. The scheme has an anticipated completion date of late 2028.