Member Article

Portakabin joins multi-million pound modular construction framework

York-based construction firm, the Portakabin Group, has been appointed to a major construction framework aimed at speeding up the delivery of modular buildings across London and the South East.

The Southern Modular Building Framework, which is operated by Hampshire County Council, is a new initiative that aims to facilitate the procurement of modular buildings for public sector projects.

Providing public sector clients with a full turnkey service for modular projects, including design, handover, building manufacture and fit-out, the appointment of Portakabin comes after the firm underwent a rigorous and independent assessment of its services and operations.

In particular, the York firm’s work on modular building projects, including the £9m first phase of the £44m school campus in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, utilising its Yorkon off-site solution, have established the construction firm as one of the biggest names in the modular building sector.

Following the announcement, Mark Thomas, Framework Manager at Hampshire County Council, commented: “Our aim is to promote and encourage collaborative working to improve the design, procurement and construction of public sector projects across the South East.

“Our experience has shown that choosing a modular approach can offer significant benefits over site-based building methods – better quality, rapid delivery, and cost certainty – by moving the construction process into a carefully-controlled factory environment.”

“Over 200 public sector bodies across the region now have access to the framework and can have confidence in the contractors’ performance following our robust selection process. And we are delighted that Portakabin has been selected to join the framework.”

The framework is one of a number of initiatives aimed at promoting modular construction across public sector and government projects, with faster construction times and cheaper builds proving a tempting proposition for local authorities and other public sector contractors.