HCA invites firms to bid for panel

The organisation, which has an investment budget of £5bn, will ask around 10 firms to tender for each of the one national and three regional panels covering Northern, Central and Southern England.

The HCA was created in December 2008 through the merger of the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships and is currently advised by firms from these legacy organisations.

However, it is understood that the new panel could be streamlined, as the HCA has sought to take more work in-house to its nine-strong team.

Wide interest is anticipated, with firms required to advise on areas including social housing and regeneration, PPP, employment, litigation, finance and tax.

One real estate partner at a legacy adviser commented: “I think most major firms would hope to be involved in some way. The interesting thing politically is what the role of the HCA will be if there’s a change of government. It could be that people are getting excited about something that may be disbanded.”

The new panel will run for a period of four years from April 2010.