LHC appoints 155 contractors to £2.34bn PB4 public buildings framework

LHC Procurement Group has appointed 155 contractors to its £2.34bn Public Buildings Construction and Infrastructure (PB4) framework, covering new build, refurbishment, civil infrastructure and facilities management for public bodies in England, Scotland and Wales.

The group, which describes itself as a not-for-profit organisation and uses the abbreviation LHCPG, announced the launch on 3 November 2026. It said PB4 succeeds the PB3 framework and will run for four years, until 2 November 2030.

Three quarters of the appointed suppliers are small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to LHCPG. The framework also draws on national contractors and regional businesses, which the group said would strengthen delivery for clients and support local economies.

Graham Collie, LHCPG's director of product innovation, said: "Public bodies need reliable access to competent contractors that can help keep assets safe, compliant and performing effectively over time. PB4 has been designed with this in mind."

The facilities management lot

PB4 is the first LHC public buildings framework to carry a dedicated facilities management workstream. LHCPG said this gives public sector organisations access to suppliers for the ongoing upkeep of their buildings, rather than stopping at the point of completion or refurbishment.

Collie said public sector clients were managing ageing assets, maintenance pressures and stringent safety and regulatory requirements at the same time.

Suppliers on the framework are pre-qualified against recognised quality, environmental and health and safety standards, according to LHCPG.

How the framework was procured

A Find a Tender notice issued by LHC Procurement Group for the Scottish Procurement Alliance (SPA) set out PB4 lots ranging in value from under £750,000 to over £25m.

LHC's own framework guidance says suppliers compete through open competition to be appointed, and that its frameworks normally run for four years, with clients calling off individual contracts during that period. The frameworks are free for public bodies to use.

Social value and Gold Standard

Michael McLaughlin, LHCPG's head of social value, said: "Clients and suppliers must demonstrate the wider benefits beyond specific works, and this is something our regional teams are best placed to support with."

LHCPG said it embeds social value into every framework and invests a portion of its surpluses in local communities through its Community Benefit Fund and the partner charities Lintel Trust and Lifting Lives. Its about-us page says any surplus generated in a financial year is redistributed to eligible partners.

The launch comes two years after the group secured full verification under Constructing Excellence's Constructing the Gold Standard scheme. Constructing Excellence said LHC Procurement Group received full verification on 30 October 2024, and LHC announced it on 8 November 2024.

LHCPG described the scheme as endorsed by the UK government and rooted in the Construction Playbook recommendations, and said it was one of only six framework providers out of more than 2,000 to reach the standard. Clive Feeney, Group CEO of LHCPG, said at the time that the verification was an independent endorsement of the group's standards.

In its PB4 announcement, LHCPG said it is the only provider to apply the standard nationwide.

The framework will run until 2 November 2030, LHCPG said.