Tips for Estates managers dealing with PFI handback

The introduction of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) during 1992 was a pivotal moment for Estates managers in the public sector. For many, like now, budgets were stretched, and the infrastructure of the assets was aged and in need of maintenance or total refurbishment. The government, then led by Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, was seeking ways to harness investment, management, and commercial expertise, and looked to the private sector to create partnerships for many public sector estates. As a result, PFI, or private finance/funding initiatives, were introduced. As the government defines them, PFI, or ‘Public Private Partnerships’ (PPPs), are ‘longterm contracts where the private sector designs, builds, finances, and operates, an infrastructure project’.¹

Inheriting an asset

In healthcare terms, this meant that many Trusts’ estates or parts of the estate were provided with funding for design, build, and maintenance, from private sources, who in turn were repaid in annual instalments with interest. Nearly 25 years later, some of these first PFI contracts are beginning to mature, and for many Trust Estates managers who have inherited the contract, it is their responsibility to ensure that they take ownership of an asset, rather than a liability, once the buildings and estate are handed back.