Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2016-02-18
Buyer: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Country: UK
Region: Outer London - East and North East
Contract type: Works
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 45111291 | 45211000: Construction work for multi-dwelling buildings | 45211300 | 45211350 | 45211360
Estimated value: 1 EUR

Technical requirements: London Borough of Waltham Forest (the ‘Council’) intends to enter into an agreement for lease to extend the term and geographical scope of existing leases between the Council (as ‘Landlord’) and Selborne 1 Limited, Selborne 2 Limited (both 100 % owned subsidiaries of Capital and Regional Plc). The leases will be executed by 2 other newly established nominee companies (which again, will be both be 100 % owned subsidiaries of Capital and Regional Plc), which shall hold the leases for the beneficial ownership of The Mall Limited Partnership (also, a 100 % owned subsidiary of Capital and Regional Plc) (collectively referred to hereafter as ‘Tenant’) in respect of The Mall shopping centre in Walthamstow, in order that the Tenant may renovate, extend and redevelop the premises.
The Tenant (acting by Selborne 1 Limited and Selborne 2 Limited on behalf of the Mall Limited Partnership) holds existing leases over the Mall Shopping Centre. The Agreement for Lease (‘AFL’) shall include Landlord consent for the Tenant to renovate, extend and redevelop the site including the provision of additional commercial and residential units on the site and improvement works to the Town Square and Gardens which will be provided by the Tenant at its cost. Once certain conditions within the AFL have been satisfied, and works have commenced, the leases will be extended by term and geographical scope.
The aim of the AFL is to extend the Tenant's existing leases in respect of the term and geographical scope (once certain conditions are satisfied and the Tenant has commenced its development works). This agreement falls outside of the application of the Directive as the main object of the AFL (and any subsequent unconditional leases granted to the Tenant) is the provision of a lease to the Tenant and thus, constitutes a contract for the acquisition or rental of land and existing buildings which is excluded from the scope of the Directive pursuant to Article 10(a). Further, the Council will not be paying the Tenant to carry out works.
The Council is also of the view that the AFL qualifies for use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Article 32(2)(b)(iii). The Tenant has an existing long-term sizeable leasehold interest on the site (the current term having 72 years remaining). The Tenant's existing interest would preclude the Council from facilitating the development without the Tenant's cooperation, due to the existence of exclusive rights which the Tenant would seek to protect (which include covenants on the Council's part not to build upon the Town Square and Gardens any buildings or structures (with the exception of installing seating or other apparatus) and to keep the whole of the Town Square and Gardens as public open space).
Any public realm works to be carried out by the Tenant shall be provided at the Tenant's own cost (the nature and specification of which shall be proposed by the Tenant in accordance with planning consents and approved by the Council as Landlord). Therefore, the Council is also of the view that such works will not fall within the scope of the Directive. Further, the nature of those works, and how they interlink into the development as a whole, are not severable from the main purpose of this transaction (namely, the extension in term and scope of the existing leases). The Council also considers that the size and value of those works relative to the Tenant's complete development plan is less than 3,5 % of the total cost of the project as a whole and in any event, is expected to fall below the threshold for works as set out in the Directive.
Any appeals should be promptly brought to the attention of Steven Sprason at the address specified in Section I) above.


Award value: 1