EN:Procure announces £340m housing framework

Galliford Try, Lovell and Engie are among nearly 30 contractors to secure spots on Efficiency North’s latest new-build housing framework.

The four-year, £340m EN:Procure framework covers four lots divided into different contracts to deliver mainly social housing activity in the Yorkshire and Humber regions, although it may extend to other public buildings such as schools, offices and other areas of the UK.

Lots range from delivering housing schemes of up to 10 units through to developments earmarked to feature more than 70 homes.

Housing built using modern methods of construction can also be delivered through the new framework via a turnkey contract with a principal contractor.

EN:Procure said its previous new-build framework was on track to deliver up to 1,394 new homes with an overall contract value of £177m.

Around two-thirds of those appointed to the latest framework are SMEs, EN:Procure said, with approximately half of those being local firms that will work on social housing construction projects in their own neighbourhoods.

One of the 29 contractors to secure a slot on the latest framework was Bardsley Construction Ltd, the Manchester-based firm that went bust last week with the loss of 200 jobs. The company had been contracted to build more than 70 homes as part of the EN:Procure framework, work worth potentially £130m.

Bardsley went into administration last Friday. According to administrators Duff & Phelps, the collapsed contractor’s residential experience saw it build more than 2,500 properties in the last five years, including low-rise residential for private and affordable housing providers.

It also built student accommodation, mid-rise private rental schemes, build-to-rent homes, and elderly care provision.