With acute pressure on financial resources and increasing demand for services, public sector bodies are having to become more adept at using their significant asset holdings not only to lever value and raise finance for capital investment, but also as a means to achieving more efficient ways of delivering services.

With acute pressure on financial resources and increasing demand for services, public sector bodies are having to become more adept at using their significant asset holdings not only to lever value and raise finance for capital investment, but also as a means to achieving more efficient ways of delivering services. Increasingly there is recognition that unlocking assets’ value can help support the public sector’s ambition of delivering its levelling up or equity for all commitments.

The fiscal environment is placing a premium on:

• Excellence in asset management and asset performance measurement on an organisational and sector level
• Innovation in raising finance and levering value from real estate asset portfolios
• Establishing partnerships that harness the resources, skills and expertise of both the public and private sector to deliver investment and efficiency

Arriving at a balanced approach between asset efficiency/value realisation, and investment and development in new capital assets, while maintaining excellent services and driving economic regeneration is a significant challenge, often under close scrutiny from regulators and citizens alike.

Our real estates and assets team combines an in-depth understanding of public sector finance and funding with expertise in the delivery and financing of major capital assets and regeneration programmes. These services include:

• Strategic project management
• Business case development and review
• Corporate structuring
• Funding and procurement structuring
• Economic evaluation 
• Place-based analysis of socio-economic and environmental factors

The commitment and creative thinking of our team adds significant value for our clients as we work alongside them, supplementing our clients' internal knowledge and experience with the required capacity and external challenge to ensure the best programme outcome. Our team works across the public and private sectors, and has earned a reputation for excellence and innovation through being engaged in a number of market leading projects and transactions in this field.

Examples of the projects we have provided lead financial advice on are: 

• £650m fundraise for a large local authority in Scotland consisting of a circa £200m refinancing and a set of sale and leaseback transactions totalling £450m.
• Leading on the finance and funding workstream as part of the Towns Fund Consortium Partner group led by Arup, in the delivery of central government’s £3bn Towns Fund programme.
• Providing advice in the assembly of strategically important business cases for major interventions such as the Midlands Engine, Future High Street Fund and other critical investment centred around economic regeneration.
• Supporting the Scottish Government in its structuring to provide financing and enable a major housing site in Winchburgh. that required infrastructure investment, creating the opportunity to deliver over 5,000 homes.