IN Brief:
- The proposed four-year framework carries an estimated value of £750m excluding VAT.
- Its planned scope spans housing refurbishment, new build, non-domestic construction, regeneration, alterations, and specialist building works.
- Supplier engagement continues through October before planned procurement and a May 2027 framework start.
Fusion21 has opened preliminary market engagement for a £750m construction and refurbishment framework intended to give public-sector contracting authorities across the UK a new route to market from May 2027.
The proposed agreement is valued at £750m excluding VAT, or £900m including VAT, and is expected to run for four years from 24 May 2027 until May 2031. It will replace the organisation’s current refurbishment, construction, new build, and modular framework when that arrangement expires.
Fusion21 is proposing a broad scope covering residential, operational, industrial, commercial, and public-sector property. Potential work includes internal and external refurbishment, regeneration, stock-improvement programmes, fit-out, change of use, modernisation, extensions, conversions, alterations, and new-build schemes.
The notice also covers extra-care projects, rooftop developments, infill schemes, and housing regeneration programmes that create additional residential capacity. Classification codes extend into demolition, site preparation, cladding, electrical and mechanical installation, insulation, plumbing, building completion, engineering work, and construction management.
At this stage, the framework is expected to contain two principal lots: housing refurbishment and new build, and non-domestic construction, refurbishment and new build. The final structure remains subject to market feedback, with pricing mechanisms, geographical coverage, value bands, and supplier participation all forming part of the engagement exercise.
Those design choices will determine how widely contractors can compete for call-off work over the framework’s four-year life. Regional divisions, turnover thresholds, project value bands, and assessment criteria can either broaden access for smaller companies or concentrate opportunities among larger national suppliers.
Fusion21 has identified SME participation as an objective of the replacement framework. Prospective suppliers are being asked to contribute to its design, while eventual bidders are expected to demonstrate relevant construction experience, technical capability, compliance with the Common Assessment Standard, and commitments covering sustainability and social value.
The existing framework, which runs from May 2023 to May 2027, has 61 specialist companies appointed, with Fusion21 stating that 64% are SMEs. Its current structure divides work across housing, education, health, and wider public-sector requirements, giving the organisation an established delivery model to review before the next procurement is launched.
The market entering the 2027 framework period faces different pressures from those prevailing when the present agreement was established. Contractors continue to manage labour availability, materials pricing, compliance demands, building-safety requirements, and tighter scrutiny of financial resilience, while public clients remain under pressure to secure value without narrowing competition excessively.
The replacement is also being developed under the Procurement Act 2023 regime, bringing supplier access, transparency, and public benefit into the framework design. Fusion21’s engagement notice links the emerging structure to fair access for SMEs and local suppliers alongside sustainability and social-value outcomes.
Market engagement is planned throughout September and October. Fusion21 is due to hold a supplier webinar on 21 September, with the preliminary engagement period running to 20 October. Individual discussions may also be held, subject to demand and capacity, to test elements including the pricing model, lotting structure, value bands, and geographical coverage.
The two-lot proposal remains a starting point rather than the final procurement structure. Supplier feedback may alter regional boundaries, contract-value bands, or access requirements before the tender is issued, and those changes could materially affect which businesses are able to bid.
Formal procurement is expected to follow in November, ahead of the planned May 2027 start. The timetable gives Fusion21 a relatively short period to convert supplier feedback into a final tender structure, evaluate submissions, and appoint the new supplier pool before the current construction framework expires.
The framework’s headline value is only one part of its commercial importance. Access will depend on regional lots, project bands, qualification requirements, and call-off mechanisms, while public clients will need sufficient supplier depth to maintain competition throughout the term.
A national framework of this size can generate sustained work across refurbishment, new build, regeneration, and specialist packages, but its value will be distributed through individual client call-offs rather than a single construction programme. Suppliers therefore need both a place on the framework and a competitive position when specific projects are released.
The consultation period gives contractors an opportunity to influence that structure before tender. By the time procurement begins in November, Fusion21 will need to have settled the balance between national coverage, regional competition, SME access, technical assurance, and commercial simplicity that will govern public-sector construction work through 2031.
