Winner for plum deal due in November

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Source: Madrugada Verde/Shutterstock

Laing O’Rourke and Lendlease are the final two firms in the running for the £328m job restoring Manchester’s grade I-listed town hall. 

Papers from the council’s scrutiny committee revealed the race for the £190m job of management contractor had been narrowed down to the pair.

Final bids go in on 19 October, with a preferred bidder due to be appointed the following month.

Both firms have a strong presence in Manchester, with Laing O’Rourke working on the £300m revamp of the city’s Great Northern Warehouses and the £1bn Manchester Airport revamp. It is also due to build architect Rem Koolhaas’s £110m Factory arts complex.

And Lendlease has been traditionally strong in the city having built a string of high-profile schemes over the years including the Trafford Centre and the Lowry Centre in Salford.

The council expects more than 100 sub-contracts ranging from £10,000 to £10m to be procured by the chosen contractor from the first quarter of next year. 

The main construction works are scheduled to commence on site in autumn 2020.

The wider project team includes Mace as project manager, Faithful + Gould as the QS, Ramboll, which is providing structural and civil engineering services, and heritage architect Purcell.