Beating the recession with deals worth £1.4bn

Sep 30 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

LAW firm Dickinson Dees has completed a series of deals worth nearly £1.4bn which demonstrate how the public sector is continuing to perform during the recession.

The deals include a £30m contract by North East Fire and Rescue Authorities (NEFRA), Cumbria County Council's £720m municipal waste deal with Shanks Group and £100 London schools contract.

Partner and public services expert Kevin Robertson from Dickinson Dees in Newcastle said: "While not all our projects have experienced funding problems, we have seen a number of deals stall since last autumn due to prospective funders pulling out as a result of the economic downturn.

“This has threatened the progress of a number of deals which were yet to be signed causing a great deal of uncertainty for our clients and the sector in general.

"Almost a year on, there are real signs that things are easing and that banks are beginning to lend again as deals to modernise the country's public services in the emergency services, education and waste sectors are finally getting secured funding to go ahead.

“Our main priority over this period has been to secure the successful completion of the deals for our clients, despite the difficult economic climate that we have been working in."

The £30m deal between NEFRA and bidding consortium John Laing and Shepherd Construction is for the design, construction, finance and operation of five community fire stations for the Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Darlington and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Authorities, as well as a brigade headquarters in Northumberland. The scheme was delayed due to funding issues in autumn 2008 but two new funders were secured and the deal was signed in June.

The £100m London Borough of Newham's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme will provide state of the art education facilities for two schools in Newham and was delayed after the original lender withdrew funding due to the credit crunch.

Dickinson Dees provided an contractual framework which enabled work to go on until a new funder, Aviva, agreed to finance the deal.

"Dickinson Dees has a national reputation for excellence and had the breadth of expertise to be able to deal with the unpredictable changes that arose during our scheme," said Helen Sidwell, head of legal, London Borough of Newham.