Jarvis loses £140m deal

Jarvis has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and lost Cheshire County Council's £140m seven-year highways maintenance deal to Edmund Nuttall.
At the end of May, the council named Jarvis as its preferred contractor to continue working on the term-maintenance project ahead of Nuttall, the only remaining contender left in the race. But in an extraordinary move, only days after awarding the project, the council called the decision in under its procedural rules (CJ 14 July).
In a statement, the council said it decided to let the deal to Nuttall "following a careful and detailed analysis of the current position of Jarvis".
A council spokesman said the debt-laden contractor "has fulfilled the contract for the past seven years and the decision has not been taken lightly".
A source close to the project told CJ: "You can understand why the council got cold feet about awarding the contract to Jarvis."
Meanwhile, Ringway has replaced Jarvis on Bracknell Forest Borough Council's £50m highways maintenance term contract. Ringway starts work in October on the five-year deal.
Jarvis was the incumbent contractor, but was not asked to rebid the scheme.
A third blow was delivered last week when Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council confirmed the Mowlem Robertson Schools Consortium as preferred bidder for its £150m PFI schools deal (CJ 26 May).
However, Jarvis did receive some good news: it is poised to sign a £39m deal to construct the Cork School of Music. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education and Science said the 25-year PPP contract depended on assurances from Jarvis'
backers.
Work on the project is due to start in September, with Sisk carrying out the construction work.