A specialist group of legal, financial and management professionals dedicated to advising businesses trying to win work at Hinkley Point C (HPC) will be relaunching in the New Year with an updated website, new members profiles, case studies and a communications plan.
As of 1 January 2020, the Hinkley Professional Services Group (PSG) will be officially relaunched and the group’s first event, a Business Advice Surgery, will take place later in the year on 24 March at the Somerset Energy Innovation Centre.
Hinkley PSG members will be providing advice alongside representatives from the Hinkley Supply Chain. Places can be booked online via this link
The concept of the Hinkley PSG was first suggested back in 2016, when EDF Energy and the Hinkley Supply Chain realised there was a need for a specialist professional service group of regional firms which could provide advice to businesses wishing to bid for work at or connected to HPC.
HPC has always been more than just the construction of a power station, it has been a catalyst for meeting the Government’s ambition for low carbon energy alongside developing skills, improving productivity and fostering collaborative working.
Collaboration has been championed by EDF Energy from the outset, with many joint ventures and consortia being formed to help deliver the project on time, on budget and to the right quality.
So, in 2017 the Hinkley PSG consisting of law firms, accountancy practices, finance companies, finance brokers, human resources and project management specialists was formed. Over the following two years a number of those businesses in the PSG gained direct experience of advising businesses or consortia involved in the HPC project or developed relevant transferrable experience.
During 2019, it was decided to review how the PSG was performing to ensure that it was still relevant to the Hinkley project and to inject new impetus, particularly as the project was moving to the next major phase of construction. Supported by the Hinkley Supply Chain, the terms of reference and membership was reviewed to ensure it was fit for purpose over the coming years.
Following consultations with all founding PSG businesses, it was decided to re-structure through the creation of a board and revised objectives with all remaining PSG group members committed to share best practice through workshops, information sheets and initial free consultations. They would also financially support the PSG to create materials and organise events and be an active ambassador for future new nuclear energy projects.
All members, as a pre-requisite, had to demonstrate they could provide advice for businesses going through various stages of contracts, including tender preparation, NEC3 and other contract negotiation, mobilisation and contract delivery. While some of the founding members had left the group, new members would be sought and welcomed based on expertise and commitment
More information about the Hinkley PSG can be found online at www.proservgroup.co.uk