Financial Audit Firm Rotation Tender - PIN

Tender description

INTRODUCTION TO HS1 LTD HS1 Ltd has the 30-year concession to own and operate High Speed 1, the UK’s first section of high-speed rail, as well as the stations along the route: St Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. High Speed 1 is the rail line between St Pancras International in London and the Channel Tunnel and connects with the international high-speed routes between London and Paris, London and Brussels and London and Amsterdam. In July 2017 HS1 Ltd. was acquired by a consortium comprising of funds advised and managed by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited and Equitix Investment Management Limited. Further information can be found at www.highspeed1.co.uk PRIOR INFORMATION NOTICE - FINANCIAL AUDIT FIRM ROTATION TENDER The FRC guidance on audit rotation states that FTSE 350 firms and Public Interest Entities (“PIE”) (i.e. entities listed on regulated exchange, unlisted banks, and unlisted insurers) must tender their audit every 10 years and rotate every 20 years. For non-listed audit businesses, such as the HS1 group, there is no 10-year rule on independence and rotation however HS1 Ltd has chosen to re-tender the audit for FY25 (year ending 31 March 2025) and beyond. The call for competition will be via PQQ followed by an ITT including the full-service specification and evaluation criteria, which is expected to go live via the portal from January 2024. Indicative dates for PQQ and ITT publishing are 22 January 2024 and 11 March 2024 respectively. If you are interested in viewing and participating in the PQQ once it has been published, please look out for the Call for Competition invitation being published on this portal on or around 22 January 2024 (ref HS1-FIN-2023-63).