Galliford Try

Bringing the public and private sectors together.

Galliford Try is a FTSE 250 business and one of the UK's leading housebuilding and construction groups with annual revenues of £2.7 billion. As well as working in the private sector, Galliford Try is currently involved in three of the Scottish Government’s hub frameworks.

With this hybrid model and vast experience in regeneration, facilities management and PPP investments, the group is able to undertake a wide array of complex projects. 

“It’s all about past experiences and connections”, said Phil McVey, programme director at Galliford Try Investments. 

"For the last six years, the involvement of Mark Stewart and his Infrastructure and Renewable Energy team has been crucial to our success in delivering hub North and Non-Profit Distributing (“NPD”) Projects. A key part of delivering those jobs was the great service that Mark and his team gave us.

There is an added benefit of working with Johnston Carmichael. When we are setting up deals and there is an issue, I’m able to pick up the phone and be pointed towards an expert in another area for some immediate heads-up advice, whether it’s from the Capital Allowances team, or the Corporate Tax team. I like that one-stop shop arrangement where timely advice is always on hand."

In a Public Private Partnership deal, it’s Phil’s job to manage the investment from the private sector. GTI’s portfolio of partnerships ranges from the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route to health centres, medical practices and school buildings in hub North, hub West and hub South East.

To date, Phil has worked with Mark on ten fully-funded projects. They initially worked together on Aberdeen Community Health & Care Village, which was the first of its kind. They have also collaborated on Forres, Tain and Woodside as a bundle of health facilities, a further education NPD as well as a number of schools and other health projects. 

"From the moment I met Mark at a strategy meeting in the very early days of engagement in the bid for the hub framework, I was impressed. He knows his stuff,” said Phil. 

"As a team we can’t just sit in our own silos, it’s really important that Mark, the legal advisors and technical advisors all understand what’s going to make the difference in winning a bid or delivering a deal.

"We’ve appointed Johnston Carmichael to advise on a few projects in the North Territory and we hope to bid for more work in Scotland in the NPD framework which they understand. I need someone who is able to advise us on winning strategies but then also deliver the fully-funded project if we are successful.” Phil continued: “Our last few deals have been funded principally by Aviva but Mark makes sure we’re getting market rates and he keeps an eye on what might be available to us. The team also built the financial model that the project is founded on. They take us through the process from early engagement on the financial model, through the direct interface with our client,  their advisors and the funders, right through to financial close.“ 

The hub and NPD market is continually changing and the team at Johnston Carmichael has responded to this in order to deliver the best service possible. Phil continued: “We needed guys who were quick on the uptake. That’s why we use Mark and his team. When we won the hub North territory we had to develop a new financial model from scratch. Amid lots of debates and new issues, Mark was able to sit alongside me to explain our new model and approach to clients and Government bodies.  This was extremely valuable as he understood our culture and strategy as well as the detail behind the model. 

"The project delivery structures are also constantly evolving”, Phil explained. “We completed the Aberdeen Community Health & Care Village under one structure then we moved onto Forres, Tain and Woodside which was on a different basis following a change in the funding market, and we’ve had to change again recently to keep up with European accounting requirements. With Mark we were able to move seamlessly from one structure to the other. Working together was key. We have now signed more DBFM contracts than any other hub company - nine in the North hub alone.  We’re getting pretty slick.” 

Phil believes there will be plenty more opportunities for Johnston Carmichael and Galliford Try to continue to work together. “If people are loyal and don’t let me down I would rather build on an existing relationship."