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Castle Gate has a quantifiable track record of delivering demonstrably beneficial outcomes for local authorities.

Contract management

Our extensive experience in the development, procurement, delivery and management of PFI and PPP projects makes Castle Gate ideally positioned to provide any or all of the full suite of contract management functions.

Ours is a highly professional, commercial, client-focused service. By developing professional relationships with all project parties, but without forsaking hard-nosed negotiating, we will ensure that authorities get what they pay for.

Whether your authority has a skills gap or simply capacity pressures, then Castle Gate will deliver a support package bespoke to your PFI needs.

Contract savings

Identifying the opportunity for savings and, crucially, negotiating delivery, requires the highly skilled, commercially adept and experienced team that Castle Gate has assembled.

We provide:

A Review and Recommendation Service. We will conduct a review of the Project Agreement and associated contract documentation and adopt the principles set out in HM Treasury’s guidance “Making savings in operational PFI contracts”.  We will interview project stakeholders and analyse the performance of the project. The outcome will be a report that summarises the results of the review and makes clear, measureable and achievable recommendations for achieving savings.

An Implementation Service. Working within clearly defined and understood timelines, overseen by a Steering Group administered by Castle Gate and chaired by the Project Sponsor, we will negotiate and implement the recommendations of the Review.  Prioritising options according to deliverability and impact, we will use our experience and commercial acumen to negotiate the best outcomes for you.  Our highly professional service will incorporate delivery of the contractual variations necessary to effect the savings.

These services can be available on fixed fee basis or on a success fee arrangement, or a combination.

Benchmarking/Market testing

We can manage the whole of your benchmarking and/or market testing provisions.  This part of the contract is a key risk, but can also be an opportunity for the Authority.  Castle Gate has an outstanding record in negotiating the best deal.

We will work with you to:

  • Determine the desired outcomes and put in place the best strategy.
  • Undertake a shadow benchmarking exercise to determine what you ought to be paying for the benchmarked services.
  • Secure the buy-in of end-users to the strategy.
  • Review and advise on the benchmarking report.
  • Respond to the benchmarking report and negotiate the most favourable outcome for the Authority.
  • Ensure the Authority’s position is fully protected in any Market Test and mitigate risk.