Accounting, auditing and fiscal services

Tender description

Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (BTL), trading under the name of Tideway, began operating as an independent regulated private company when, in August 2015, Ofwat awarded the company the licence to design, build, commission and maintain the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The 25km tunnel beneath London will store and transfer tens of millions on tonnes of untreated sewage each year that currently pollutes the tidal River Thames. The project is one of the most significant projects in Europe and is urgently needed to modernise London's sewer system. On 13 August 2015, Ofwat designated Bazalgette Tunnel Limited as an infrastructure provider (IP) wholly responsible for the financing, construction, delivery, maintenance and operation of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The IP is a separate self-standing, independent utility. Bazalgette Tunnel Limited is part of a group of companies (the Tideway group of companies). Its immediate parent company is Bazalgette Holdings Limited, which is in turn wholly owned by Bazalgette Ventures Limited, and its ultimate holding company is Bazalgette Equity Limited. Two other companies make up the group (Bazalgette Finance Ltd and Thames Tideway Tunnel Ltd). The structure of the Tideway group of companies is shown in the accompanying Pre-Qualification Pack (PQP). The Contracting Entity is therefore purchasing the Services on behalf of and for the use of the Tideway group of companies identified therein. The Tideway group of companies requires a number of services to meet statutory and regulatory audit requirements in accordance with prevailing statutory, regulative and other relevant standards. In addition, other related or advisory services may be required on an ad-hoc basis, subject always to the principle of independence. Under the UK Companies Act 2006, the Tideway group of companies including BTL require a statutory audit for the individual entities and a number of consolidations. Under the Ofwat licence, BTL (as the licensed entity) is required to act and report as if it were a listed entity and the licence requires a number of regulatory audits in line with other water companies. This is described in more detail in the PQP. Interested parties need to register on the Contracting Entity's e-sourcing portal and will be able to download a pre-qualification pack (‘PQP’) including the form of pre-qualification questionnaire (‘PQQ’) to be completed and returned to express interest. The registration process is set out in section III.2) of this Contract Notice. The PQP contains further detail regarding the Contracting Entity, the Tideway group of companies and further detail on the Contract and the timeline and phases of the procurement including information regarding the prequalification stage. Whilst it is intended that the procurement will be run in accordance with the timeline and process described in the PQP, this contract notice and the procurement documents, the Contracting Entity reserves the right to amend or cancel any or all of the procurement at any time and/or amend the timescales. Interested organisations should refer to sections II.2) (Quantity or scope), VI.3) (Additional information) of this Contract Notice, the PQP and the Contracting Entity's website http://www.tideway.london for further information regarding the Contract generally.