Rugby construction company wins place on Oxford Uni partner framework
Rugby-based Morgan Sindall Construction has won a place on the University of Oxford’s Capital Projects Partner Framework.
The main contractor has been selected for all three of the framework’s lots, through which the university is expecting to route £150 million of construction work annually over the next decade.
They are: Lot 1: £100,000 to £5 million; Lot 2: £5 million to £20 million; Lot 3: £20 million and above.
The UK’s oldest, and world’s top-rated, university has tendered the framework to support its estates strategy. This aims to build upon the institution’s unique physical heritage, while providing world-leading sustainable environments for teaching and research.
The investment will further boost the wider Oxfordshire economy, to which the university already contributes £2.3 billion a year, supporting around 50,000 jobs.
With a focus on creating-high performing buildings across its 7 million square foot estate, the university has selected main contractors with sector experience and established track records in sustainable construction, including the use of Passivhaus methodology.
Projects will include a mixture of new developments and refurbishment of some of its existing 237 buildings. A quarter of these are listed assets, with 37 per cent built before 1840. The university also boasts a significant portfolio of state-of-the-art research buildings developed over the past decade.
The first tranche of work is expected to be tendered through the framework imminently.
James York, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “British universities are investing in their estates at record levels to help maintain their world-leading standing. They are starting to look for construction partners who can integrate early with their teams, to deliver new and improved assets quickly and efficiently.
“The University of Oxford has an ambitious estates plan, and they have made the bold move to change how they operate to get the best from the market. We are extremely proud that they have chosen to put their faith in us. Providing valuable up-front advice, designing and building modern facilities fit for 21st century higher education, and doing so in a sympathetic fashion befitting Oxford’s heritage, is a brief that we are relishing.”
