PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Portsmouth Highway Maintenance PFI
At a glance
Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
Infrastructure
Contractor
£500m
Bespoke
Senior Consultant
Location
Sector
Client Type
Project Value
Contract Type
Role
Project Overview
John worked as a Senior Consultant on the £500m Portsmouth Highways Maintenance PFI, a long-term highways maintenance contract for Portsmouth City Council administered under a bespoke contract form. The appointment involved working with two colleagues alongside a quantum expert to support Ensign Highways in a significant contractual dispute arising from an attempted termination of the contractor’s employment.
Challenges
The contractor’s contractual position and the commercial consequences of the proposed termination required detailed analysis for a formal expert determination. The work also needed to provide a clear and properly evidenced basis for advice to the contractor and its instructing solicitors.
Contribution
John assisted the quantum expert by providing contractual and commercial advice, reviewing matters relevant to entitlement and quantum, contributing to the expert assessment and drafting position statements for the instructing solicitors. The analysis brought together contractual interpretation, commercial consequences and supporting project records into clear positions capable of formal scrutiny.
Results
The expert determination found in favour of the contractor. John’s contribution helped turn complex contractual, commercial and project-record evidence into a structured position capable of formal scrutiny, supporting the quantum expert and instructing solicitors through a substantial dispute.