PFI: the STEPS deal : twentieth report of session 2004-05, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

This report from the Committee of Public Accounts looks at the PFI deal struck between HM Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue, in April 2001, when it transferred the ownership and management of most of their estates to Mapeley, a private sector consortium.

The deal was to provide a reduction in costs, particularly in having the ability to vacate up to 60 per cent of the estates, with residual lease costs being borne by Mapeley.

The contract was won by Mapeley because it offered a cheaper bid, based on speculative returns from the increases in commercial property values over a 20-year time period, also it believed it would win other business contracts to increase profits.

Once the PFI contract was signed the freehold and longleasehold properties were transferred to a company based in Bermuda. Because of the implications for capital gains tax and a later request from Mapeley for additional money, The Committee makes a number of recommendations on how the contract could have been better handled by the Department.