Taxing time over for Balfour

Balfour Beatty and London & Regional Properties have been selected as the preferred bidders for a œ43 million PFI project to relocate more than 2,000 Inland Revenue staff to new offices in Manchester and Stockport.

L&G/Balfour Beatty saw off bids by the other two shortlisted consortia of P&O (Bovis) and Development Securities/Ballast Wiltshier. Eight consortia were originally considered for the project. The scheme is the first PFI project undertaken by the Inland Revenue and is part of its ten-year programme of restructuring tax offices to improve efficiency.

The new building in Manchester will house 11 London Provincial Tax Offices, reorganised into service and compliance offices. The office will house around 1,950 staff handling the tax affairs of PAYE taxpayers living in London and the South East.

The building, on the border between Manchester and Salford, is only a few hundred metres from the bomb damaged centre of Manchester. The choice of site is seen as a mark of commitment by the Government in the future of the city.

The Stockport building will be constructed behind an existing Grade II facade and will bring together six tax and collection offices in Stockport and Hyde with about 350 staff who deal with taxpayers in the local area.

Detailed discussions with L&G and Balfour Beatty will now begin and the Inland Revenue expects to sign a contract by the end of September and to occupy the new buildings in March 1998. The Revenue was advised on PFI matters by Chesterton and on financial matters by Price Waterhouse.