NHS lines up partners for estates PPP

12 Jul 01
More than 135 companies have expressed an interest in joining a groundbreaking NHS public-private partnership, it was revealed this week.

13 July 2001

The first priority for the PPP, which has the working title of Inventures, will be to continue the sale of the £400m worth of surplus estate identified by the NHS in England. The government has promised the money will be ploughed back into the service.

It will also develop the consultancy services currently provided by the NHS Estates Trading Fund. These include estate management, planning, financing and procurement.

Existing contracts with the Department of Health, local health authorities and trusts will continue. But the PPP does not include provision of any clinical services.

Kate Priestley has stepped down from her role as chief executive of NHS Estates to head the new venture. She said expressions of interest had come from major construction and facilities management companies, as well as property developers.

Ownership of Inventures, which will be formally launched in April 2002, will be shared by the government and a major company or consortium, though the ratio has yet to be decided. Sources said this week that the consortium was the more likely option as this offered the best possible spread of expertise.

A spokesman for the new venture said Inventures would help the NHS respond more quickly. 'In the public sector there are a lot of tiers to be negotiated before a deal can go through. For example, a recent partnership with an IT provider took two years to put together.

'There are a lot of rubber stamps to be got and while this is understandable, it isn't the response time expected in commerce.'

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