Major affordable homes provider to procure £1.9m legal services framework

One of the largest providers of affordable homes in the UK, Orbit Group, is to procure a legal services framework worth an estimated £1.9m over six years.

Orbit manages around 45,000 affordable homes in in the Midlands, East and South East of England, and builds around 1,500 new affordable homes every year.

It said it was seeking to appoint a number of suppliers (anticipated to be up to 8) to enter into a contract to provide legal services across a range of disciplines:

1. Tenancy Services
2. Construction and Development
3. Property Asset Management
4. Finance / Treasury
5. Human Resources / Employment
6. Governance and Corporate

Suppliers will be expected to provide the full range of services throughout the duration of the contract.

The contract for the panel will be awarded for an initial period of five years with an option to extend up to a further one year, subject to provisions for earlier termination including a break clause and annual renewals based on meeting and maintaining Key Performance Indicators.

The group said: “Orbit believes the framework agreement needs to be for 6 yrs (5+1) to enable its legal service partners to mobilise and provide advice on its diverse business activities and corporate objectives, giving continuity of service for the duration of its development programme, all of which are undertaken in highly regulated and complex operating conditions.

“A shorter time-scale would unduly disrupt the ensuing advisory relationships and not represent value for money, given the investment needed to be undertaken by the providers and in light of the diverse range of legal advice likely to be delivered pursuant to the framework agreement.”

The contract will be awarded on the basis of quality (weighting: 60) and price (weighting: 40).