IN Brief:
- The National Framework for Major Works 2026 has an estimated total value of £5bn and runs for four years.
- Five lots divide access by project value and geography, with the largest band covering schemes worth more than £60m.
- The framework is scheduled to run from 19 October 2026 until 19 October 2030.
YPO has completed the contractor award process for its £5bn National Framework for Major Works 2026 ahead of the procurement route beginning its four-year term on 19 October.
Pagabo manages the framework on YPO’s behalf, with YPO acting as the contracting authority. It is the third generation of Pagabo’s Major Works framework and has been procured under the Procurement Act 2023 and associated regulations.
The agreement is intended principally for individual projects, project phases and construction programmes valued at £5m or more. Its scope includes new buildings, extensions, alterations, refurbishment, retrofit, specialist fit-out, planned repairs and remedial work, together with mechanical, electrical and plumbing packages.
Civil engineering, landscaping and associated site infrastructure can also be included where they form part of the construction requirement, allowing a major building project to be procured without separating every external or enabling element into a different route.
Five lots divide the framework by project value and geography. Lot 1 is a collaborative partner route for projects above £5m, while the remaining lots cover work from £5m to £15m, £15m to £30m, £30m to £60m and more than £60m.
Regional subdivisions are used through much of the framework so contracting authorities can access contractors appointed for the part of the UK in which the work will be delivered. The largest-value and collaborative routes provide broader geographical coverage.
The £5bn figure is the estimated total value of work that could pass through the framework during its term rather than money divided between the appointed contractors at award. Individual projects will still require call-off contracts before any construction revenue is generated.
The procurement allows framework users to award work either with or without a further competition, subject to the framework rules. A further competition can test project-specific price, programme, methodology and resources among eligible contractors, while direct award provides another route where the prescribed conditions are met.
Quality carried a 60% weighting and price 40% during procurement of the principal framework, placing the larger share of the evaluation on bidders’ delivery submissions rather than cost alone.
The new agreement replaces the previous generation after Pagabo’s earlier Major Works frameworks supported more than £3bn of construction projects. The replacement broadens that established procurement route under the new statutory regime rather than creating a framework without a previous client base.
The scope reflects the increasing volume of major public work taking place within existing buildings as well as on cleared development sites. Retrofit and refurbishment projects can carry substantial construction risk because structure, services and fire performance have to be established from existing information and intrusive surveys before new work can be coordinated.
Mechanical and electrical work is explicitly included within the framework, allowing projects with large building-services elements to remain within the same main procurement where appropriate. Hospitals, laboratories, education buildings and other heavily serviced facilities can carry a significant proportion of their contract value in electrical, mechanical and specialist installations rather than primary structure.
Appointment to the framework does not guarantee contractors a defined share of the £5bn pipeline. Suppliers must still secure individual call-offs, meaning the commercial value of a place depends on the projects released by eligible public bodies and the contractor’s ability to convert framework access into live work.
The award follows YPO and Pagabo’s separate launch of the £4.29bn Civil Engineering, Infrastructure and Enabling Works framework, which covers sectors including highways, rail, water, energy, aviation, maritime, nuclear, demolition and remediation.
Keeping the two routes separate reflects the different supply chains required for major buildings and infrastructure even where project values overlap. A hospital refurbishment or civic development places different demands on contractor capability from rail civils, marine work or a major remediation package.
The Major Works framework is scheduled to run from 19 October 2026 until 19 October 2030. With contractor appointments now recorded, the next measure of the framework will be the projects public bodies bring through it and the value of call-off contracts awarded during those four years rather than the headline ceiling alone.
