Housing, Neighbourhood and Building Services - Commercial M&E Servicing & Repair Delivery Options Appraisal - 2026

Description

Portsmouth City Council (the 'Council') is undertaking this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise as part of a strategic review of delivery options for the provision of servicing and repair of its Commercial M&E installations across its managed building assets. The Council is responsible for managing a portfolio of properties that require regular planned and reactive maintenance to ensure safety, compliance, and efficiency to Council properties. The Council currently have two separate contracts in place for M&E Maintenance across Council managed assets, one that manages all fire and life safety systems (which commenced in September 2026) and one that manages that manages all other Commercial M&E assets, which is due to expire on 31/03/2028. The Councils options appraisal will consider the council's strategic objectives, addressing emerging risks & opportunities and, vitally, addressing service needs. The subsequent formal procurement will commence in February/March 2027. The Council are requesting the survey is completed by Friday 4th December 2026 at 14:0, any responses after this deadline may not be considered in the final options report. Current Property Information, Scope of Services and Demand Housing Stock info - The Council has a housing stock of approximately 17,500 properties of which approximately 15,500 are socially rented and then there are approximately 2000 leasehold properties. Within the stock there is a mix of housing types including houses and bungalows, however the majority of the dwellings are within purpose-built blocks of flats constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. Traditionally the estate has been spread across the two geographical areas of Portsea Island (on-island, PO1 to PO5) and Paulsgrove and Havant (off-island, PO6 to PO9). A recent acquisition of approximately 800 properties has however subsequently increased the 'off-island' area to sites in Gosport, Southampton and Winchester. Corporate Asset Info - In addition to the residential housing stock the ‘on island’ repairs and maintenance contractor also manages repairs for a number of the Council’s corporate asset. This is a function managed by the ‘on island’ contractor only. The on-island contractor is responsible for approximately 550 assets across both geographical areas, however these are predominantly within the PO1-PO5 postcode. The Council's broader property portfolio encompasses a range of building types which include but are not limited to: • Schools • Offices • Commercial buildings, warehouses and depots • Care homes • Sheltered housing and supported living properties Systems Thinking Approach The previous contract has been managed on a full open book partnership basis with adoption of a range of Vanguard Systems Thinking designed processes and performance measures. The Council envisages these principles will still form part of any ongoing delivery strategy, though potentially their application may be modified dependant on the chosen delivery model. Existing M&E Contract The Council's existing Commercial M&E contract provides planned servicing, inspection, testing and reactive repair across a broad range of M&E installations within the Council's housing and corporate property portfolios. The contract has been in operation for roughly the last nine years and is due to expire on 31st March 2028. It is currently delivered by a single term service provider under an NEC4 Option E cost reimbursement arrangement and has an estimated overall contract value of approximately £25m over the whole 10 year contract term. The scope has evolved during the life of the contract. Most notably, fire and other life-safety systems have recently been removed from the arrangement and transferred to a separate contract. Current & future demand Over the last 5 years for the existing scope arrangement there have been approximately 3500 service activities and 7000 repairs, which is likely to remain consistent over the course of any new contract. With the impending changes to gas installations post 2025 it is unlikely that there will be an increase in demand for annual gas servicing as a result of any development and as the stock decarbonises the current level of demand may reduce. Social Value The provision of social value is an increasingly important topic for the Council and within public sector procurement, with the Council adopting an updated policy in 2021, see Appendix 8 Social Value Policy March 2021 or use the following link - https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/173.183-Social-Value-Policy_Accessible-1.pdf The Contract will need to incorporate social value to ensure the Council achieves community benefits from the contracts beyond the core service provisions. This commitment aligns with the Council's strategic priorities to foster local economic growth, improve social outcomes, and enhance environmental sustainability. The Council are committed to continuously reviewing and improving the approach to social value delivery, and suppliers will be encouraged to innovate and suggest new ways of increasing their contribution to commitments made towards Economic Regeneration, Employment, Skills, and Training, Environmental Considerations and Community Engagement, whilst working in Partnership with the Council and partner organisations. Envisaged Lotting and Contract Options Models Overview of lotting Options It is envisaged that this contract will be reprocured under a single lot, with all scope items delivered under a single contract. Envisaged contract terms and durations It is proposed that the contract will utilise the NHF Schedule of Rates. However, through the PME Survey, the Council is seeking suppliers' views on alternative contracting and pricing approaches that may offer benefits over the proposed model. The Council envisages an initial contract term of five years, with an option to extend for up to a further five years, in increments to be determined. The overall contract term could therefore be between five and ten years. The questionnaire will assist the Council in determining its preferred contract and pricing approach. Based on current expenditure, the Council anticipates an indicative annual contract value of approximately between £2 million to £2.8 million. This figure is provided for market engagement purposes only and should not be regarded as a guaranteed level of expenditure. The value of the future contract may increase or decrease during its term as a result of changes in the Council's property portfolio and service requirements. This could include the acquisition or disposal of assets, changes to the services delivered in-house or externally, and any future changes arising from Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) should proposals affecting the Council be progressed during the contract term. Actual expenditure may also be affected by inflation and movements in labour, material and equipment costs over the life of the contract. The Council is therefore interested in suppliers' views on appropriate mechanisms for managing price changes over a longer-term arrangement, including the application and review of Schedule of Rates pricing. Potential Local Government Reorganisation Should proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Hampshire be progressed during the life of the contract, the size and composition of the property portfolio for which the Council, or any successor authority, is responsible could change. For planning purposes, the Council considers that this could result in the volume and value of services required under the contract increasing by up to approximately 50%, for example where a successor authority assumes responsibility for a larger property portfolio. Any such change would be dependent upon the final form of LGR, the assets and responsibilities transferring to the relevant authority, and the extent to which those requirements fall within the scope of the contract. Further information regarding the anticipated contract value and any provision for potential changes arising from LGR will be provided in the subsequent tender notice and procurement documentation. The Council currently envisages designing the competitive flexible procedure with two principal stages, comprising an initial participation/selection stage followed by an invitation to tender stage. The Council anticipate the Competitive Flexible Procedure will be akin to the Restrictive Procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations (2015), with two separate stages - Stage 1 - Conditions of Participation Stage 2 - Invitation to Tender (ITT) The Council are intending to run the PME and the subsequent envisaged tender process under the following Procurement Programme - PME issued Tuesday - 10th November 2026 PME Survey Monkey Questionnaire Deadline - Friday 4th December 2026 by 14.00 PME Draft Feedback Report - shared with suppliers taking part with the PME process - Friday 18th December 2026 PME Draft Feedback Report - Deadline for supplier comments - Friday 8th January 2026 FTS & Contract Notice issued - March 2027 Tender issued and procurement documents published on Intend – CFP Stage 1 - March 2027 Deadline for requests for clarification - April 2027 CFP Stage 1 submission deadline - May 2027 Final procurement documents published on Intend - CFP Stage 2 - July 2027 Deadline for requests for clarification - September 2027 Tender return deadline - September 2027 Contract Award Notice Published - October 2027 Standstill and section 20 notification start - November 2027 Standstill finish - November 2027 Section 20 Notice Finish - December 2027 Contract award - December 2027 Contract commencement - 1st April 2028

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