The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Browne Jacobson have published a joint report setting out proposals for a new national public-private partnership (PPP) framework aimed at accelerating delivery of UK infrastructure projects.
Launched at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds on 19 May, the report, Pipeline to Progress: Making UK Infrastructure Investable, outlines more than 20 recommendations for government, contracting authorities and infrastructure bodies to improve the way projects are procured, financed and delivered.
Craig Elder, Government and Infrastructure Partner at Browne Jacobson, said during a panel at UKREiiF that the recommendations were intended to create “a legal and contractual framework that enables public and private sector collaboration when tackling the UK's infrastructure deficit”.
“The market is clear: there is appetite to support UK infrastructure where risk is balanced, pipelines are credible and contracting is agile,” he said.
The report argues that the UK risks falling behind international competitors unless it can create more “credible, investable propositions” capable of attracting long-term private capital into projects, including hospitals, schools, transport and prisons.
Among its proposals are the creation of a standardised national legal architecture for PPPs, reforms to risk allocation, stronger governance structures, and greater transparency requirements for infrastructure contracts.
The report also calls for the establishment of a central PPP delivery body modelled on Ireland’s National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), designed to retain institutional expertise, reduce bid costs and provide greater consistency across projects.
During the panel discussion following the launch, industry leaders and public sector representatives highlighted the gap between infrastructure ambition and delivery capability, particularly around project readiness, workforce shortages and business case approvals.
Beckie Hart, Regional Director for Yorkshire and Humber at the CBI, said that while capital was available, the challenge remained how to deploy it effectively into deliverable schemes.
“Infrastructure is where ambition meets reality, but ambition doesn’t pour concrete,” she said.
Christopher Sood-Nicholls, Managing Director for Regional Development at Lloyds Banking Group, said investors were looking for “predictable, priceable and repeatable projects” supported by clear delivery pipelines and commercially viable risk structures.
“There is a real opportunity now,” said Sood-Nicholls. “Investment readiness: is the project at a stage where we can actually fund it? The importance of having projects that can be ready cannot be understated.”
Amy Harhoff, Chief Executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority, said regional authorities also needed clarity around workforce capacity and supply chain capability.
“Have we got the architects, developers, contractors to actually make this happen?” she said. “There is a reality about labour markets and where people travel.”
Healthcare infrastructure featured heavily in the discussion, particularly around the government’s proposed neighbourhood health centre programme.
Phil Holland, Chief Investment Officer at Prime plc, said plans for 250 neighbourhood health centres by 2035 would rely heavily on private investment alongside public funding.
He said around 150 new-build centres could require approximately £3.75bn in private capital, building on experience from previous Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) partnerships that delivered hundreds of primary care facilities across the UK.
“The public sector interest should open up the way,” Holland said, adding that current procurement activity suggested renewed momentum behind community healthcare estate investment.
Panellists also discussed the need for stronger social value measurement within infrastructure delivery, with the report recommending that social value metrics move beyond procurement scoring into long-term measurable contractual outcomes.
Sood-Nicholls said financial institutions were increasingly considering wider social and environmental outcomes alongside commercial returns.
“Every transaction we undertake [has] clear social and environmental value impact,” he said.
The report additionally warns that delays in approvals and fragmented governance structures continue to slow infrastructure delivery.
Harhoff criticised the length of time required to secure business case approvals, while Holland said there were often “too many layers” involved in decision-making processes.
The report concludes that without greater policy consistency, streamlined procurement and stronger collaboration between public and private sectors, the UK may struggle to meet its infrastructure ambitions despite significant investor appetite.
Rain Newton-Smith, Chief Executive of the CBI, said the issue was no longer access to capital but the creation of projects capable of attracting long-term investment.
“The challenge now is delivery,” she said. “The binding issue is whether the UK offers credible, investable propositions supported by consistent pipelines, clear risk allocation and professional stewardship over the life of assets.”