About the client
Our client is an East of England based main contractor that works in both public and private sectors. They construct high quality buildings, ranging from affordable housing to educational heritage and leisure sites. Most recently, we have worked with our client on two major bids, which were both successful.
Contract 1: £20m County Council Archive Centre
This bid was for a new archive centre offering a bespoke, climate-controlled home for most of the county’s unique archival collections, as well as state-of-the-art public facilities and teaching spaces for the local university. More than just a building, it will be the focus for a countywide-programme of activities and events inspired by local history and will transform the way the Archives Service engages with local communities through its outreach work.
Contract 2: £18.5m New Sports & Leisure Facilities
The sports hub will deliver 76 acres of new international standard sports and leisure facilities for the town and surrounding areas and a Club House for the local rugby club.
Why the construction firm approached us
Our relationship with our client is over six years old and began when they approached us to provide bid consultancy expertise on a £400Bn regional construction Framework. Following our success on this key Framework, we were subsequently appointed by them on other key Framework and Project bids.
Our client had identified the £20m new archive centre as a “must win” bid for their business. It was a high-profile project, local to their offices and complimented exactly what they can deliver. It was perfectly aligned to their core business and competencies.
We were then approached by them again a few months later to work with them on another key high profile local project; the construction of a new sports hub facility in a neighbouring county.
Where we added value
On both bids, we facilitated bid launch workshops with our client and their technical team. The objective of the workshops was to focus the entire bid team on ensuring that the responses addressed the key requirements of the tenders. We addressed all the technical questions to ensure that before our Bid Writers put pen to paper, we all agreed what needed to be provided in our answers.
On all bids we assign a dedicated Bid Manager; this was no different on these two tenders. Our Bid Manager would ensure that information was being provided to the Bid Writer from the technical contributors. They set and monitored the bid programme and undertook reviews at various draft stages.
Propeller’s bid writing team has worked with the company over the whole 6 year relationship and has a strong construction background. Our bid writers use their skills to interpret the questions and craft answers which maximise scores and present our client’s USPs in a clear and relevant way.
Our in-house graphic design service created infographics for our client to deliver information in an accessible way and make their tenders stand out from their competitors.
Outcome for our client: Success – two out of two!
As a result of our bid consultancy services, our client was successful in their bid for the archive centre and construction is now well underway. Construction of the concrete frame has begun, as well as remediation works.
Shortly afterwards, our client was also awarded the contract for the Essex Sports Hub which will provide the local community with a competition standard cycling track, various pitches and outdoor leisure spaces. The site will also provide a new home for the local rugby team.
Services
provided:
Sector: Construction New Build (Public Sector: Education, Health, Leisure & Public Realm; Private Sector: Commercial, industrial and leisure)
Turnover: £290 million
Size of business: Approx 1200 employees
