Privatised PFI gets new leaders

Partnerships UK, the new private sector body set to take over much of the work of the Treasury's Private Finance Initiative Taskforce, has taken another step towards viability.

The Treasury has named Derek Higgs as Chairman Designate and Adrian Montague as Deputy Chairman Designate. Both new appointments have been well received in the City.

Higgs, currently Chairman of Prudential Portfolio Managers, is a prominent City figure. With a long track record in banking and corporate finance, he is also Chairman of Business in the Environment, a Trustee of the Architecture Foundation and a non-executive director of property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle and London Regional Transport.

Montague, also with a City background, has led Taskforce operations since 1997.

The Government's purpose in privatising the Taskforce is to give PFI greater access to both market information and funds - as well as to speed up the project development process.

One sticking point in the original plan focused on the question of conflict of interest since the new company was expected to take an equity stake in projects on which it was also acting as adviser. This has been overcome to some extent by introducing other ways for Partnerships UK to make money, including simply charging a fee.

A Chief Executive is still to be named. When the company is established, targeted for this spring, its shareholders will have the right to confirm the nominations for both Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

Elliott Chase