The longlist, cut from about 80 firms that expressed an interest in Project Jaguar, will be reduced further within the next few weeks, with one or two winning bidders selected by next spring.
Project Jaguar will involve £200m of facilities management work and possibly another £200m of capital projects, depending on the bids submitted and the internal decisions made at BT.
Many of the longlisted firms have a strong contracting base, so they may recommend that BT’s capital projects work is included – although some facilities management bidders may be less keen on this.
The longlist of bidders is: Amec; Bovis; Carillion; Citex/Mace; Dalkia; HBG; Mowlem; Johnson Controls; Kier; Mansell; Mitie; Morgan Sindall; Regus; Servus; Taylor Woodrow; and WS Atkins.
It is understood that some of the bidders are considering teaming up; facilities management/contracting joint ventures are starting to be seen as the “dream ticket”.
Most of the longlisted firms are strongly committed to winning Project Jaguar, with one bidder describing it as “the biggest game in town; far more important than anything else now out to bid”.
Nearly all the firms have named main board directors as a contact point for Project Jaguar.
Kier chairman Colin Busby is personally leading the contractor’s effort. Bovis Program Management managing director Barry Taylor, WS Atkins director Barry Hutt and Michael Medlicott, head of Nomura’s FM arm Servus, are heading their firms’ bids.
