Specialist construction, planning and public procurement legal support provided by Lucinda Baker and a team drawn from the firm’s education, finance, construction and planning teams, enabled the University of Gloucestershire to move ahead with its ambitious plans.

The University had planning permission for a £32m campus redevelopment at its Oxstalls Campus in Gloucester and needed the input from our team of education-focused lawyers to:

• support them through the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union)process for the appointments of design teams, project managers and main contractors;
• produce robust public education sector contracts for the full design and build team for the disparate elements of the campus redevelopment;
• provide project specific legal advice to the project management team throughout the redevelopment works.

To fund the redevelopment, the University also needed legal input into the refinance of the estate and campus. This included negotiating the facility documentation, as well as dealing with all the existing registrations and conditions.

The HCR team supported the University and its project management team to successfully tender the campus redevelopment works, which have involved full public procurement OJEU tenders for the design and build team appointments for:

• A new business school and growth hub;
• A remodelled highways junction providing enhanced access to the site;
• A new sports hall and ancillary works;
• New on site student accommodation.

The team successfully concluded the negotiations with the full design and build teams and put in place PCR (Public Contracts Regulations) and public sector compliant suites of contracts, appointments, bonds, warranties and parent company guarantees.  Those negotiations have been concluded whilst maintaining good relations with all of the other development partners and teams involved.

Lucinda said: “Not only did we provide all that was needed, we also successfully managed a potential OJEU challenge and ensured that the re-finance was concluded promptly and smoothly.”

“The University has benefited from having the support of specialist legal advisers who have been able to supply robust compliant documentation and advice in an efficient and cost effective manner. The team worked effectively together in a timely and sensitive way to ensure a smooth delivery of the complex multi-faceted project by protecting the University’s position without derailing any relationships.”

Client quote: “We have found the service provided by HCR to be refreshingly focused, informative, effective and tailored to suit the timelines of the various projects within the overall programme of works.”