Morrison's £250m win

by James Atkinson



City Care, a Morrison Construction/Serviceteam joint venture, has scooped a £250m deal to take over Norwich City Council's direct labour organisation for 10 years.

The partnership agreement will see the council's 800 DLO employees and their equipment transfer to City Care. The deal covers maintenance of council-owned buildings and houses, parks and open spaces, highways, lighting, refuse collection and street cleaning.

Morrison director Gordon Morrison explained that City Care had been set key performance indicators. "The base level is where the business is now and there are targets set over the next 10 years with year-on-year improvements. There are penalties if we don't achieve the targets, but if we do better we share the gains with the council."

Property makes up the bulk of the deal both in terms of quantity and value. The work comprises both a mix of quick and emergency response and large refurbishment projects.

Morrison commented: "Lack of longevity has been a major problem in construction, but the 10-year timescale gives us a chance to train people and invest in equipment and research and development.

"Norwich's DLO has wonderful technical skills and we will bring to it more effective management skills and our financial strength," added Morrison.