Public Private Partnering

Capita Gwent Consultancy

Capita Gwent Consultancy

Value: £83m over 10 years

Services Provided: Civil Engineering, Transportation & Environmental Consultancy

Start Date: September 2002

Capita Symonds' unique joint venture partnership with Gwent Consultancy came into force on 1st September 2002. The JV saw Gwent Consultancy, a free standing business jointly owned by four South Wales local authorities (Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly), form an ambitious joint venture with the leading multidisciplinary consultancy and its parent, The Capita Group Plc.

The new company saw Capita invest £1m into the joint venture as the majority shareholder with 51 per cent of the business. Contracted to run for the next 10 years the joint venture aims to provide services worth some £83m and could see the creation of some 200 new, high-skilled jobs over time.

The Consultancy continues to be involved in many of the region's main transportation initiatives including the £55m Newport Southern Distributor Road PFI scheme, the £30m Ebbw Valley Railway and the TIGER consortium in Gwent, which aims to develop a high quality public transport system for the area. It also works closely with the whole community s to provide road safety education and training and is also developing several 'Safe Routes to School' to promote greater awareness of road safety issues to pupils, teachers and parents. It is also working on a number of brownfield site projects including Aerospace Wales - St Athans and Pirelli, Newport, providing comprehensive range of technical services.

It is also spearheading the revival of some of the most deprived areas of South Wales and is currently managing the £10m Llanhilleth regeneration scheme in Blaenau Gwent aimed at restoring and revitalising the once thriving mining community.

The JV has been singled out by the Welsh Assembly as one of the success stories of the Welsh business community and is now a major employer in the Gwent area, aiming to double in size and turnover during the 10-year life of the joint venture and working hard to reverse the Wales graduate brain drain by retaining high calibre, skilled staff within Wales.

Assembly Minister for Economic Development and Transport Andrew Davies said:

"As well as playing a key role in building the infrastructure of tomorrow's Wales, the company's capacity to grow as an employer has been remarkable. Capita Gwent Consultancy is the driving force behind some of the Welsh Assembly Government's major strategic investments, as well as being involved in much smaller, local projects which impact on people's lives. I am looking forward to seeing how these projects progress."