Trowers & Hamlins

• The fifth major public sector transaction Trowers & Hamlins has completed this year despite the difficult funding climate
• Procurement process completed in record time

City law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Southwark Council on its £200 million Southwark Schools for the Future secondary programme, part of the Government’s £45 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

According to Trowers & Hamlins Southwark Council’s programme completed the competitive dialogue procurement process faster than any other BSF scheme in a deal that involved considerable liaison and co-working between Trowers & Hamlins and Southwark Council’s legal service team.

Trowers & Hamlins says that it is an encouraging sign that the Private Finance Initiative  funding for one of Southwark’s secondary schools to be rebuilt, St Michael’s Catholic School has gone ahead despite the current difficult funding climate.

Trowers & Hamlins advised Southwark Council on all aspects of its Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Balfour Beatty Consortium (trading as Transform Schools) to rebuild or refurbish 12 of the borough’s secondary schools.

The consortium led by Balfour Beatty, the global engineering and construction group, includes RM, the leading supplier of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to the UK education sector, with funding provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

Building Schools for the Future is the Government’s project to modernise all secondary schools in England by 2015 by either rebuilding or refurbishing them and improving their ICT infrastructure.

Helen Randall, Partner, who led the Trowers & Hamlins team, comments: "We have developed a close working relationship with Southwark Council and are delighted to have advised them on this scheme which completed the competitive dialogue procurement process in record time."

"This is the third BSF scheme that Trowers & Hamlins has closed in its considerable portfolio of BSF instructions and the fifth major public sector transaction we have completed on this year, demonstrating our strength in public sector work."

Trowers & Hamlins has previously advised Provian Construction Limited on the largest ever BSF scheme for Kent County Council, and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on their BSF scheme.

Other BSF schemes on which Trowers & Hamlins have been instructed include

• Essex County Council, which will be the UK’s second largest BSF scheme;
• Wolverhampton City Council;
• Bournemouth & Poole Joint BSF;
• London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham BSF;
• Southampton City Council BSF;
• London Borough of Waltham Forest LEP; and
• the completed London Borough of Barnet Pathfinder Primary School Capital Investment Programme.

Major transactions Trowers & Hamlins’ Public Sector Commercial Department has completed this year are:

• The Tunbridge Wells John Laing Local Asset Backed Vehicle;
• Leeds City Council EASEL Regeneration Public Private Partnership;
• London Borough of Newham’s Forest Gate Housing PFI;
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ BSF scheme;
• North Tyneside Community Care PPP;