Northern utilities contract successes for Sweett

The listed property and infrastructure adviser, previously known as Cyril Sweett Ltd, said it has won contracts to provide consultancy to Northern Gas Networks (NGN) and United Utilities on revamping their networks.

The contract awards follow Sweett’s appointment as preferred bidder for the £180m Little London and Beeston Hill & Holbeck Leeds social housing scheme late last year.

Sweett is also working on the development of the million sq ft Trinity Leeds shopping quarter, which will be the only major UK retail scheme to launch in 2013.

The group, which has an office in Leeds, said it is seeing increasing signs of optimism around Yorkshire developments as investors consider reviving mothballed projects.

“We are seeing a lot of the money moving out of London into the North West and Yorkshire,” said senior director Ken Wood, who covers the North and Midlands for the international consultancy.

“We’ve had a number of developers asking us to look at projects which have been dead for a long time.

“They have money and people need to put it somewhere if you’re not making it on the stock market. There’s not as much cash in banks so everybody is looking at alternative ways of doing it.

“There are schemes starting to come forward. I hope it’s part of a wider trend.”

Sweett will provide cost consultancy around NGN’s plan to deliver £120m of annual infrastructure investment. No value was disclosed for the professional services contract, which runs for three years.

The contract will be delivered mainly from Sweett’s Leeds and Manchester offices.

Leeds-based NGN provides gas to 2.5 million people across the North, managing 36,000km of pipelines.

Sweett will also provide consultancy support to United Utilities under a three-year framework. The utility firm supplies water and sewerage services to nearly seven million in the North West, and the contract is expected to deliver over £500m in projects. Much of this work will also be done from Sweett’s Leeds and Manchester offices.

The firm employs about 40 staff in Leeds and also has a small office in Hull. Mr Wood said it is shifting its focus to buoyant areas of spending as public sector work dries up.

“It’s good business sense to follow the market rather than just trying to stick with what you do,” he said.

“We’ve worked a lot in the public sector over the years and still have a big presence there. The move is now into infrastructure.

“Rather than just buildings, we’re moving into heavy engineering and infrastructure.

“We’re growing in the regions and doing very well.”

The firm’s services include cost management, programme and project management, strategic advisory and consultancy services.

Developer Land Securities revived the £363m Trinity scheme in 2010 after work was halted in 2008 at the depths of the downturn.

Some 72 per cent of Trinity is now pre-let or in solicitors’ hands, after retailers including Mamas and Papas, Footlocker, Marks & Spencer and Primark signed up.

The centre will feature 120 shops, plus a boutique Everyman cinema.

Sweett’s project management role involves planning and costing the scheme, after procuring main contractor Laing O’Rourke.

“We’re just getting onto the retail delivery. It’s a big scheme with tens of retailers coming in,” said Mr Wood. “Trinity is the only shopping centre in the country opening in 2013.

“It’s probably on a par with the type of work we do – this is core business for us. The business has a fantastic history in large retail delivery.”

Sweett floated in 2007, prior to the global downturn which sent property prices plunging and halted many construction projects.

It competes with Leeds-based consultancy Turner & Townsend.

Mr Wood said the sector remained intensely competitive, making it the ideal time for developers to procure contractors.

“It’s a competitive marketplace at the moment. But now is the time to go out to the market and win things. The cost of materials is rising but prices are coming down.

“The difference between price and cost gets sucked up by the contractors.”

[email protected]