Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Corporate Officer of the House of Commons
Parliament Square
LONDON
SW1A 0AA
Contact
PCD
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKI32 - Westminster
National registration number
210715608
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.1) Name and addresses
Corporate Officer of the House of Commons
Palace of Westminster
London
SW1A 0PW
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKI - London
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.1) Name and addresses
Corporate Officer of the House of Lords
Palace of Westminster
London
SW1A 0PW
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKI - London
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract involves joint procurement
In the case of joint procurement involving different countries, state applicable national procurement law
England and Wales
PCR 2015
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Victoria Tower Fabric Safety Works 2025
Reference number
C1858
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 45000000 - Construction work
two.1.3) Type of contract
Works
two.1.4) Short description
Victoria Tower, as part of the Palace of Westminster, is a world-renowned heritage asset. Acknowledged by its Grade I listed designation and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Victoria Tower is 325 ft tall and is sited above Sovereign's Gate at the south-west end of the Palace site. The Tower was originally designed as a royal entrance and a repository for the records of Parliament and is currently home to the Parliamentary Archives although these are in the process of being moved elsewhere.
Significant repairs were last undertaken to Victoria Tower in the early 1990s. The building fabric has deteriorated in the intervening period, and it is now necessary to undertake repairs to the external envelope of Victoria Tower via a full-height scaffold. Parliament is exercising their duty of care to prevent future deterioration of the building fabric as custodians of this Grade I Listed asset and to maintain a safe and secure environment in and around the Palace of Westminster.
This notice relates to the Contracting Authority's (acting jointly with the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords) appointment of a contractor under NEC4 ECC Option B contract (with secondary clauses and amendments), to deliver temporary works, and subsequent conservation and repair work, to the Victoria Tower.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £110,600,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 45000000 - Construction work
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI - London
Main site or place of performance
Westminster, London
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Contracting Authority, acting jointly with the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords, previously invited suppliers to participate in an open tender process for provision of works in relation to the Victoria Tower Fabric Safety Project (Contract Notice ref: 2024/S 000-019847). No suitable tenders were submitted under that open procedure and the contracting authority has now awarded a contract to Wates Construction Limited under the negotiated procedure without prior publication. The contract is a NEC4 ECC Option B contract, to deliver temporary works and subsequent conservation and repair work, to the Victoria Tower.
The temporary works includes design, site logistics, site set up, hoardings, temporary electrics, piling, groundworks, enabling works, crash deck scaffolding removal, primary steel support trusses and towers, full scaffolding / protection, and stone cleaning.
The subsequent conservation and repair scope of works includes: stone repairs, decorating, gilding and other miscellaneous works, roof (cast iron tiles and supporting structure, skylight, fall arrest system), windows refurbishment, metalwork restoration, fire stopping, MEP and adaptions to existing MEP equipment, waterproofing to balconies, guttering, rainwater pipes & leadwork, pigeon netting, flagpole repair works, temporary flagpole, removal of scaffolding and site reinstatement.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Quality / Weighting: 60
Price - Weighting: 40
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
• 45111290 - Primary works for services
• 45111291 - Site-development work
• 45111300 - Dismantling works
• 45212300 - Construction work for art and cultural buildings
• 45212350 - Buildings of particular historical or architectural interest
• 45212353 - Palace construction work
• 45223210 - Structural steelworks
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
Negotiated without a prior call for competition
No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to open procedure.
Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority
Explanation:
The Contracting Authority, acting jointly with the Corporate Officers of the House of Lords, previously invited suppliers to participate in an open tender process for provision of works in relation to the Victoria Tower Fabric Safety Project (Contract Notice ref: 2024/S 000-019847). No suitable tenders were submitted under that open procedure. As a result, the contracting authority now intends to award a contract to Wates Construction Limited under the negotiated procedure without prior publication. It is considered that the award of
the contract without prior publication of a contract notice is lawful in accordance with:
a. Regulation 32(2)(a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 because no suitable tenders have been submitted in response to an open procedure and the contracting authority is using
the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice on the basis that the initial conditions of contract are not substantially altered; and/or
b. Regulation 32(2)(c) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 because this is a safety critical project with constraints on access and working hours which require works to
commence urgently. Therefore, for reasons of extreme urgency the time limits for the open or restricted procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied
with. The receipt of no suitable tenders in response to the previous open procedure was unforeseeable by the contracting authority.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2025/S 000-013034
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
22 May 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
WATES CONSTRUCTION LIMITED
Wates House, Station Approach
Leatherhead
KT22 7SW
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ26 - East Surrey
National registration number
1824828
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £110,600,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £110,600,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract is likely to be subcontracted
Value or proportion likely to be subcontracted to third parties
Proportion: 63 %
Short description of the part of the contract to be subcontracted
Groundworks 5%
Steelworks 7%
Stone repairs 14%
Scaffold 21%
Cast Iron repairs, Flagpole 13%
Window repairs, gilding 3%
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The High Court of England and Wales
The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom