By Bindu Pokkyarath, Director – Economics, Pegasus Group
Over the past few years, Pegasus Group has been investing in our public sector capability, growing our teams and experience. Now appointed to several Government Frameworks covering all regions of the UK, we are better placed than ever to support essential public sector infrastructure.
To discuss what these appointments mean for our clients, our business growth, and the broader development landscape, we sat down with our Business Case and Funding Director, Bindu Pokkyarath to discuss.
Why has Pegasus Group expanded further into the Public Sector?
“While we have historically focused on the private development sector, our business and the development landscape have evolved significantly in recent years. With new leadership within Pegasus, strategic decisions taken, and new disciplines added, this steady growth in scale and ambition positions us to expand further into public sector work. As a business, we recognised that combining our deep private sector expertise could create immense value for public sector clients too.
“Our experience and strength lie in advising on development, and our 360-degree view of both sectors gives us a distinct advantage. With recent high-profile hires and a strong public-sector track record, we are well-positioned to bridge the gap between the two. We’re particularly interested in pursuing strategic partnerships and joint ventures.”
Why is Pegasus targeting specific government frameworks?
“Public sector procurement is based on delivering value for taxpayer money. Frameworks are a quick compliant way to procure effectively and in line with the Procurement Act 2023. For Pegasus, they create a straightforward way for our clients to appoint us.
“Our appointment to frameworks such as GCA’s Construction Professional Services 2 and others with ESPO and Prosper opens doors across our entire suite of services. From regeneration to technical services, environment, biodiversity, and project management expertise, these frameworks offer a huge opportunity for our company as a whole. These frameworks provide streamlined access to central government and local authorities, allowing us to build on existing relationships and forge new ones through a trusted, government-appointed route.”
What has been your experience of working with the public sector so far?
“Working in the public sector provides a stable pipeline of work, invaluable early insight into policy changes, and the opportunity to work on projects through the project life-cycle.”
“There is palpable energy within the public sector to get things moving and overcome the present uncertainties. This energy is focused on forming strategic partnerships and engaging developers early. On regeneration projects specifically, we see combined authorities being proactive and open to constructive initial conversations with developers.”
What viability challenges are you seeing across the industry?
“Viability is certainly a challenge across the board. Schemes are undergoing rigorous options assessments, exploring different scenarios to make developments financially viable. Consequently, we need a government-backed pragmatic approach to planning and approvals, alongside regulatory flexibility to account for market constraints.
“Organisations like the National Housing Bank and Homes England will now play a vital role in providing the guarantees and fixed rates of return that investors require. We’ll need to see real rigour in complying with these additional obligations.
“At the same time, we can ease pressure through phasing and programming. For example, you could stagger BNG deliveries to align with cash flow and developer returns, letting considerations like this ease pressure while viability remains a key constraint in the sector.
“Earlier engagement with developers is helping, but certainty remains the key constraint to moving plans forward.”
How would you describe current investor appetite in the UK?
“Investor appetite remains cautious – uncertainty and lack of clarity do not help. If we can achieve greater regulatory and economic certainty, investment should naturally flow.
“Looking ahead, clear government communication on monitoring, decision-making and funding allocation will be crucial. By removing ambiguity, we can rebuild investor confidence and help investment flow across the market.”
As the development landscape evolves, we’re ready to help our public sector clients turn their projects into reality. If you’d like to discuss one of our recent framework appointments or how our end-to-end support can help you, reach out to one of our experts.
