The NAO said taxpayers had lost £139m in the sale
The NAO said taxpayers had lost £139m in the sale.But since the Annington deal, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has acquired a taste for bringing in the private sector to manage its assets.Last year it launched two schemes – Project Connaught and Project Allenby – to redevelop its deteriorating Army barracks The combined value of the deals exceeds £1bn. And The Independent on Sunday has learned that bidders are lining up for around £3bn worth of contracts to refurbish and maintain Army barracks and other MoD properties.The first contract, to upgrade and maintain properties owned by the MoD in Scotland, is worth £440m over seven years. Four consortia are bidding for it, led by four companies: the nuclear-weapons- to-light-railways group Serco, Amec, the support services company, Bovis Lend Lease, the Australian construction outfit, and Carillion, the construction company. The bid awards are expected this year, and work starts next year.Expressions of interest have also arrived for the South West region contract, worth £500m over seven years. A spokesperson would not reveal who the companies are.Three contracts for the North, South-east and Eastern regions are up for tender, worth £750m, £650m and £550m respectively.
Contracts for these deals are expected to be handed out in 2004.. BSkyB, the satellite TV group, is to come under pressure from shareholders to justify its reliance on Andersen, the accountancy firm at the centre of the Enron scandal. Of this, A$44.2m was for auditing the vast News Corp empire and A$69.8m was for other services, largely tax and corporate finance advice.News Corp is believed to be one of Andersen’s largest clients and BSkyB is the firm’s biggest corporate customer based in the UK. And BSkyB’s considerable payments to Andersen have accelerated over the past few years.
In the 12 months to 30 June 2001, the company paid Andersen £600,000 for auditing its accounts, and £13.8m was spent on other services.Of this, £600,000 was on tax advice, £6m on programming the company’s websites, £4.9m on assistance with developing call centres, and £2.3m on other consulting services. In 1999/2000 BSkyB paid £400,000 for auditing and spent £5.7m on other services from Andersen. In 1998/9, BSkyB paid Andersen £400,000 for auditing and £2.4m for other services, principally on the aborted bid for Manchester United FC.Investors are concerned about the level of non-audit fees paid to auditors in the wake of the Enron scandal. Enron paid $52m (£26m) to Andersen in its last financial year.