Longcross in the frame at Imperial College

Imperial College London has appointed the Longcross Group as a framework partner for mechanical and electrical engineering services.

In essence, this means Longcross, alongside 16 other contractors, will share out £350m-worth of new-build and refurbishment work on a four-year project commencing in 2004. There is also an option to extend it for a further four years.

The framework agreement is with the college's estates division, which is responsible for all new-build and refurbishment works, building services, infrastructure projects and plant rooms on the college estate, which consists of 25 sites and 190 buildings, ranging from education and sports facilities to accommodation and administrational offices.

Imperial College has put into place a series of non-exclusive framework agreements for building construction services within the college capital works programme. It is understood that more than 100 firms originally applied for the scheme.

"The selection process for the framework agreement was extremely demanding and consisted of assessments in several key areas," said Dean Cronin, director of Longcross Engineering's southern division. "We are delighted to be chosen to become a partnered M&E contractor."