Styles&Wood Group plc has announced that a new joint venture (JV) formed with modular construction specialist Extraspace Solutions has secured a place on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) £4.4bn national framework.
The joint venture company, Spatial Initiative, has been awarded places across eight out of 22 regional lots and joins 32 other contractors that were also selected. The framework will operate for a period of up to four years and commenced on 27 November 2017. This follows Spatial Initiative’s appointment as the primary contractor on Lot 1 of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Modular Primary Block Framework earlier in 2017.
This four-year programme, which will use modular construction to replace buildings at primary schools across the country, commenced in July 2017 with a pilot scheme of 16 schools and an overall value of £95m. Spatial Initiative has secured the first four projects to be allocated under the framework.
The JV will design and manufacture block replacements, including full schools, using its component design solution. The JV has established strategic partnerships with AHR Architects and S I Sealy Building Services Engineering Consultancy which will provide design services, and Southerns Interiors who will provide furniture, fixtures and equipment solutions.
Tony Lenehan, Chief Executive Officer at Styles&Wood (pictured above), said: “The significant growth prospects presented by offsite system build, in particular in the education sector, represent an excellent opportunity for Styles&Wood. The JV provides a clear point of difference in the market by combining Extraspace’s expertise in offsite manufacturing and Styles&Wood’s fit-out specialism to provide clients with an efficient model for a single-source supply for their modular-based programmes.”
The rebuild is part of the Government’s £4.4bn Priority School Building Programme, which is rebuilding or refurbishing the school buildings in the very worst condition across the UK. The first four schools, located across the South East, London and Midlands, will be delivered between April and December 2018.
