Statutory and Regulatory Audit and Related Services
Bazalgette Tunnel Limited, trading under the name of Tideway, began operating as an independent regulated private company when, in August 2015, Ofwat awarded the company the licence to design, build, commission and maintain the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
United Kingdom-London: Accounting, auditing and fiscal services
2016/S 156-284236
Contract notice – utilities
Services
Directive 2004/17/EC
Section I: Contracting entity
I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)
Bazalgette Equity Limited
The Point, 7th Floor, 37 North Wharf Road, Paddington
Contact point(s): Internal Supply Chain
For the attention of: Doherty Dermot
W2 1AF London
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 2031477700
E-mail: dermot.doherty@tideway.london
Internet address(es):
General address of the contracting entity: http://www.tideway.london
Address of the buyer profile: https://thamestidewaytunnel.bravosolution.co.uk
Electronic access to information: https://thamestidewaytunnel.bravosolution.co.uk
Electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate: https://thamestidewaytunnel.bravosolution.co.uk
Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Specifications and additional documents (including documents for a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)
I.2)Main activity
I.3)Contract award on behalf of other contracting entities
The contracting entity is purchasing on behalf of other contracting entities: yes
The Tideway group of companies (refer section II.1.5)
The Point, 7th Floor, 37 North Wharf Road, Paddington
W2 1AF London
United Kingdom
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting entity:
II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance
Service category No 9: Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services
Main site or location of works, place of delivery or of performance: London.
NUTS code UKI1
II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)
II.1.4)Information on framework agreement
Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement
Estimated value excluding VAT
Range: between 1 000 000 and 2 000 000 GBP
Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded: N/A.
II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s):
On 13 August 2015, Ofwat designated Bazalgette Tunnel Limited as an infrastructure provider (IP) wholly responsible for the financing, construction, delivery, maintenance and operation of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The IP is a separate self-standing, independent utility.
Bazalgette Tunnel Limited is part of a group of companies (the Tideway group of companies). Its immediate parent company is Bazalgette Holdings Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by Bazalgette Ventures Limited, and its ultimate holding company is Bazalgette Equity Limited. Two other companies make up the group (Bazalgette Finance Ltd and Thames Tideway Tunnel Ltd). The structure of the Tideway group of companies is shown in the accompanying Pre-Qualification Pack (PQP). The Contracting Entity is therefore purchasing the Services on behalf of and for the use of the Tideway group of companies identified therein.
The Tideway group of companies requires a number of services to meet statutory and regulatory audit requirements in accordance with prevailing statutory, regulative and other relevant standards. In addition, other related or advisory services may be required on an ad-hoc basis, subject always to the principle of independence.
Under the UK Companies Act 2006, the Tideway group of companies including BTL require a statutory audit for the individual entities and a number of consolidations. Under the Ofwat licence, BTL (as the licensed entity) is required to act and report as if it were a listed entity and the licence requires a number of regulatory audits in line with other water companies. This is described in more detail in the PQP.
Interested parties need to register on the Contracting Entity’s e-sourcing portal and will be able to download a pre-qualification pack (‘PQP’) including the form of pre-qualification questionnaire (‘PQQ’) to be completed and returned to express interest. The registration process is set out in section III.2) of this Contract Notice. The PQP contains further detail regarding the Contracting Entity, the Tideway group of companies and further detail on the Contract and the timeline and phases of the procurement including information regarding the prequalification stage. Whilst it is intended that the procurement will be run in accordance with the timeline and process described in the PQP, this contract notice and the procurement documents, the Contracting Entity reserves the right to amend or cancel any or all of the procurement at any time and/or amend the timescales.
Interested organisations should refer to sections II.2) (Quantity or scope), VI.3) (Additional information) of this Contract Notice, the PQP and the Contracting Entity’s website http://www.tideway.london for further information regarding the Contract generally.
II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
79200000, 79212000, 79210000, 79212500, 79212300, 79212100
II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
II.1.8)Information about lots
II.1.9)Information about variants
II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:
The estimated value of the Services is over the relevant threshold for Services but the actual value of the Contract will be subject to the tender proposals received and the terms of the Contract. The estimated value given is based upon current estimated total usage of approximately 1 000 000 to 2 000 000 GBP over the total possible term. The actual level of usage will fluctuate dependent upon the Contracting Authority’s requirements and may be subject to change.
The initial term of the Contract (Initial Term) is one (1) year with options to extend for up to nine (9) further years (Additional Term) making a total possible aggregate term of ten (10) years. All figures and amounts described in section II 2.1) are based upon a term of ten (10) years. Should the Contract not be extended to a total duration of 10 years, then the figures and amounts would adjust accordingly.
Estimated value excluding VAT
Range: between 1 000 000 and 2 000 000 GBP
II.2.2)Information about options
Description of these options: The initial term of the Contract (Initial Term) is one (1) year with options to extend for up to nine (9) further years (Additional Term) making a total possible aggregate term of ten (10) years.
II.2.3)Information about renewals
II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:
III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:
Applicants must provide full details of their proposed contracting structures with their completed PQQ Response. See PQP for further details.
III.1.4)Other particular conditions:
Description of particular conditions: These conditions are set out in the PQP and will be further detailed in the procurement documents to be confirmed at ITT stage.
III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Interested organisations must register to participate in the pre- qualification stage of the procurement by following the link:
https://thamestidewaytunnel.bravosolution.co.uk
And complete the online confidentiality undertaking provided at that link. Following registration and acceptance of the confidentiality undertaking, interested organisations will be able to download the PQP and view other procurement documents relevant to this PQQ stage. Instructions and further details for the pre-qualification phase are set out in the PQP.
Applicants must be suitably approved and qualified to carry out statutory audits under and in accordance with the UK Companies Act 2006. The Authority will review the Register of Statutory Auditors in assessing this criteria, please see the PQP for further information.
III.2.2)Economic and financial ability
III.2.3)Technical capacity
III.3.1)Information about a particular profession
Reference to the relevant law, regulation or administrative provision: Individuals assigned to the Services will be required to hold any qualifications or membership of professional or registered bodies as required by the UK Companies Act 2006 or other relevant statute to perform the Services.
The Authority will review the Register of Statutory Auditors in assessing this criteria, please see the PQP for further information.
III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
Some candidates have already been selected (if appropriate under certain types of negotiated procedures): no
IV.2.1)Award criteria
IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction
IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract
IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents(except for a DPS)
Payable documents: no
IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.3.5)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
VI.2)Information about European Union funds
VI.3)Additional information:
(1) Additional information concerning this Contract Notice and the Contracting Entity (Section I): economic operators should note that words and expressions in this Contract Notice with an initial capital letter shall have the meanings given in the PQP. All additional information relating to information provided in this Contract Notice is available in the PQP. Further information on (i) the procurement is available at https://thamestidewaytunnel.bravosolution.co.uk and (ii) the Thames Tideway Tunnel project is available on www.tideway.london
The Contracting Entity is Bazalgette Equity Limited which is ultimate parent company of Bazalgette Tunnel Limited. ‘Tideway’ is the organisation delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel on behalf of its owners Bazalgette Tunnel Limited. Tideway employs more than 400 highly experienced professionals to deliver the 25 kilometre sewer tunnel needed to prevent an average 20 million tonnes each year of untreated sewage discharging into the tidal River Thames in London. Tideway is independent of Thames Water, and its revenues are determined via a separate licence for Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd from the Water Services Regulation Authority (‘Ofwat’). Bill payments for the tunnel will be collected via Thames Water. Thames Water will continue to provide water and waste water services to its customers as it does now.
(2) Additional information concerning the Contracting Entity and the procedure (Section I and Section IV): On 24.8.2015 Ofwat granted Bazalgette Tunnel Limited a project licence to carry out all activities described in the project specification notice apart from those activities that Thames Water is to carry out under the preparatory work notice. Bazalgette Tunnel Limited is not a utility for the purpose of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (‘UCR 2016’) and accordingly the UCR 2016 do not apply to this procurement. However Bazalgette Tunnel Limited is required pursuant to the procurement regime in the Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) Regulations 2013 (‘SIP Regulations’) to tender certain contracts and certain categories of contracts in accordance with a modified regime set out in the SIP Regulations (‘modified UCR 2016’). More information concerning the Project Licence is available at:
http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/improving-regulation/thames-tideway/
Information on the SIP Regulations and more information on the modified UCR 2016 is available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
(3) Additional information concerning (IV.2.1) (Award criteria) — Tideway intends to award the Contract to the economic operators with the most economically advantageous tender. Details of the award criteria and methodology for identifying the most economically advantageous tender will be set out in the procurement documents to be made available at ITT stage.
(4) Additional information concerning conflicts of interest — Applicants are referred to the PQP document and specifically section 6.3 for further information relating to the Contracting Entity’s approach to conflicts of interest.
(5) General information for Applicants: a response to this Contract Notice does not guarantee that an economic operator will be invited to tender. The process for selecting Tenderer(s) to be invited to tender is set out in the EN Standard form 05 — Contract notice — utilities 12 / 17 PQP. Tideway reserves the right in its absolute discretion to abandon, terminate or suspend the award process at any time.
Further:
a. Tideway does not bind itself to enter into any contract arising out of the procedures envisaged by this contract notice;
b. no contractual rights express or implied arise out of this contract notice or the procedures envisaged by it;
c. Tideway reserves the right to vary its requirements and the procedure relating to the conduct of the award process; and
d. applicants and Tenderers shall be fully responsible for and liable for all costs associated with and arising out of or in connection with responding to this contract notice and any prequalification questionnaire. Tideway will not be responsible for or liable to any Applicant or Tenderer for any cost incurred by such Applicant and/or Tenderer in responding to this Contract Notice, any pre-qualification questionnaire or any Tender howsoever incurred.
VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures
High Court of Justice
Royal Courts of Justice The Strand
WC2A 2LL London
United Kingdom
VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals
Additional information in relation to SIP Regulations and the modified UCR 2016 is available at:
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice: