Willmott Dixon to profit from procurement trial

Willmott Dixon has held off four rivals all vying to take part in a unique procurement experiment worth up to £180m.

The scheme is mastermined by Nottinghamshire-based organisation Scape System Build, which is owned by six councils – Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City, Derbyshire County and Derby City, plus Gateshead and Warwickshire.

The avowed aim of the exercise is to "revolutionise procurement methods", with the claim that the system can save both contractors and clients "thousands of pounds".

It will work by public sector clients directly approaching Willmott Dixon to tackle contracts worth between £2m and £20m over the next four years.

The thinking behind the initiative is that contractors will not have to work up bids for individual projects being rolled out by clients, while the promoters themselves will not have to advertise deals on an individual basis, thereby saving both sides time and money.

It is estimated that over the four-year period of the contract, Willmott Dixon could net around 24 projects, worth in the region of £180m in total.

The contractor’s workload is expected to come mainly from local authorities, but it is understood that the health and education sectors may tap into the system as well.

A source close to the project claimed: "The key driver is the continuous improvement and refinement of the procurement process and to show that there’s more than one way to do business."

But it is understood that Scape’s criteria for selecting its winning framework agreement contractor was similar to conventional procedures, with financial standing, quality and experience all coming into play.

Bluestone, Skanska, B&K and Interserve also pitched for the deal.