Mace, Bovis, Heery, Schal and Amec line up in race to manage BBC's central London headquarters.
Five construction managers are competing to oversee the £200m redevelopment of the BBC's Broadcasting House headquarters in in central London.

They are Mace, Bovis Lend Lease, Heery International, Schal and Amec. The winner of the scheme, designed by MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, is due to be chosen in late May.

Sources close to the project stressed that the competition would be fair. In February, some construction managers raised concerns that Bovis Lend Lease would be favourite for the job because of its close links to Land Securities Trillium the BBC's property partner.

Land Securities, which signed a deal to take over the BBC's London estate last year, is working with Bovis on the £200m studio complex at the BBC's White City base.

A BBC source said: "This will be a completely open process. The Broadcasting House scheme is separate to the property deal the BBC signed with Land Securities."

The source said the contract might change to a fixed price deal. "The BBC was interested in companies with the backing of a parent company in case it does change to a guaranteed maximum price contract," he said.

The shortlist follows criticism of the scheme by Westminster council last month. The council wants plans scrapped for an additional floor at Egton House. This part of scheme was backed by architectural watchdog CABE.

Westminster council is broadly supportive of the scheme, according to the BBC source.

He added: "The council has been positive – it is minded to approve as long as we work out the height and mass issues."

  • Mace, Bovis Lend Lease and Interior Services Group are understood to have qualified for another large construction management deal, a £70m extension to the genome campus of medical charity the Wellcome Trust at Hinxton, Cambridge. US architect NBBJ won a competition to design the 24,000 m2 project late last year.