Bevan Ashford beats City firms to win hospital PFI instructions

Following a tender process, the firm has won work from current property clients Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Invicta NHS Trust for one of the fourth wave PFI hospital schemes, which were unveiled by Health Secretary Alan Milburn in January.
Head of the PFI and projects department Steve Hughes orchestrated the pitch, which saw Bevan Ashford beat off competition from City firms.
The scheme has a capital value of about £200m, one of the largest by value in the current wave of PFI schemes. The deal includes the proposed construction of a new acute hospital and mental health facilities in Tunbridge Wells and the provision of an acute unit at Maidstone Hospital.
The deal is the biggest single health scheme handled by the firm to date and raises its total number of large-scale PFI deals acted on to 10.
Again within the health sector, Bevan Ashford has additionally been successful in its bid to provide advice in relation to the NHS Local Investment Finance Trust (Lift) project. The firm will represent a joint venture between the Department of Health and Partnerships UK, titled Natco, in the development of primary care premises throughout the UK.
Hughes said: "The recent project wins further enhance the reputation of our team as one of the leading PFI and projects practices outside the City and are representative of the breadth of instructions we're now receiving in all sectors."