Pihl & Son nets Danish first with schools win
00:00 10 Jan 2007
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Pihl & Son has become the first Danish contractor to chalk up victory on a PPP schools deal in the UK. And sources say the firm is also odds-on favourite to pull off a second success in the UK, in the shape of a museum project on Merseyside
Pihl failed to make the grade on two other PPP schools schemes it recently pitched for - the Argyll & Bute and Falkirk projects - but has now surfaced as preferred bidder for Aberdeen City Council's £110m-plus project, after beating off a challenge from its only remaining rival - the Transform Schools group (Balfour Beatty/Mansell/Haden).
Robertson also pitched for the deal, but pulled out of the fray last year due to "workload issues". An insider said that Pihl, Denmark's second largest construction company, had "used its substantial purchasing power to obtain highly advantageous prices through its supply chain".
Pihl will act as turnkey contractor on the Aberdeen deal and work with local contractor Stewart Milne and other local firms.
UK firm Operon will tackle facilities management, as well as mechanical and electrical tasks, and the make-up of the winning consortium, known as Nyop Education, is completed by Icelandic property company Nysir. The project, dubbed the 3Rs (reorganise, renovate, rebuild), features nine new schools, plus the revamp of one other.
Financial close is expected by the end of June, with work on site starting in July and the build programme running for about 30 months. And under the NPDO (non-profit development organisation) procurement model, profit from the scheme will be shared between the companies, the council and various charities.
Meanwhile, sources say that Pihl, in tandem with Galliford Try, is on the brink of its second UK success - a £33m museum project on Liverpool's waterfront. The 10,000m2 scheme, known as the Museum of Liverpool, will be built at Mann Island and play a key role in Liverpool's City of Culture year in 2008.
Also bidding for the scheme were Bovis Lend Lease, Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing O'Rourke.
A spokesman for Pihl said: "About 50% of our turnover comes from outside Denmark. We will continue to keep our eyes open for suitable opportunities not only in the UK, but all over the world."