Bovis and Land Secs still waiting for £1.2bn Birmingham BSF decision

Bovis Lend Lease and Land Securities Trillium have been left dangling for another month after Birmingham City Council delayed revealing its preferred bidder for its £1.2bn Building Schools for the Future scheme.

In an 11th turn around this week the council issued a statement citing “a number of outstanding clarifications with the bidders” as the reason for the delay.

Both bidders will have to wait until January 12th to find out which consortium has been successful.

The council refused to reveal what issues need to be clarified with bidders. Both bidders declined to comment.

However industry observers questioned whether the scheme has been hit by the banking crisis.

Partnerships for Schools recently brokered a deal with the European Investment Bank to stump up 50% of the cost of five BSF schemes close to financial close, due to funding problems triggered by the credit crisis.

Questions have also been raised about the suitability of Land Securities Trillium as a preferred partner, when it is currently planning to sell off its PFI arm Trillium.