City Announcements
Morse selected as preferred ICT bidder for Building Schools for the Future contract
Embargoed for 7.00am, 25 September 2007
Morse selected as preferred ICT bidder for the South Tyneside & Gateshead Building Schools for the Future contract
Morse plc ("Morse" or the "Group"), the advisory & execution professional services company, announces that it has been selected as the preferred bidder of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) managed services to South Tyneside & Gateshead as part of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The ICT contract represents approximately £23 million of revenues to Morse over the next five years, with an option to extend on similar terms for a further five years. In tendering for this contract, Morse was operating as part of a wider consortium of bidders led by support services and construction group, Carillion.
Revenue and profits from the contract will be spread over the five year duration of the contract, with a limited contribution expected to fall into the current financial year.
Morse began investing in BSF in June 2005 and is currently engaged in several bids, in each case as part of a consortium of suppliers including construction groups and technology and educational organisations. Morse’s current pipeline for BSF projects is in excess of £300 million.
The Group has established a dedicated team focused on building its proposition for BSF projects. These are a minimum of five years in duration and are the type of recurring revenue which Morse is targeting. The Morse Board believes that this first appointment of the Group as a preferred bidder to one of the Government’s major BSF projects will lead to further BSF project successes and the building of a significant future profit and revenue business stream.
Commenting on the announcement, Kevin Alcock, Chief Executive of Morse plc, said:
"Morse has been making very good progress in the BSF market since June 2005 to establish the necessary credentials, relationships and approaches required to qualify as a preferred member of BSF bidding consortia. Our success with Carillion at South Tyneside & Gateshead endorses our strategy in the Public Sector, to focus on the Government’s transformation agenda.
On the strength of our extensive experience in ICT, we have been successful in this instance and are very confident that this positions us very strongly for selection in other BSF projects in the future."
Provision of ICT managed services to BSF contracts
BSF is a £2 billion per annum public sector programme to renew or rebuild the infrastructure and facilities of every secondary school in the UK over the next 15 years, with ICT representing between 10% and 20% of the total value of the investment programme.
The value of the BSF projects varies considerably from £100 million to £1.5 billion depending on the size of the Local Authorities Educational network. The consortia contracts run over a 25 year period with the exception of the ICT element which is contracted over five years with an option to renew for a further five years.
The Government’s BSF programme is on record as seeking ICT partners who have a track record for delivering both infrastructure and services for large scale business critical projects in the commercial world as well as a proven understanding of delivering against a public sector agenda.
Morse has shown it can build the skills required to help public sector organisations improve efficiency through ICT change programmes that focus on process improvement, cultural change and citizen satisfaction.
Contacts:
Morse plc Tel: 020 8380 8000
Kevin Alcock, Chief Executive Officer
Eric Dodd, Group Finance Director
Financial Dynamics Tel: 020 7831 3113
Harriet Keen
Haya Chelhot