Grenfell-linked firms awarded £355m in public contracts since fire
Companies being investigated over the Grenfell Tower fire have been awarded £355 million of public contracts since the deadly inferno, an analysis has revealed.
Rydon, Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK, Kingspan and Exova have won 81 contracts advertised on the Government's public sector tender portals since 2017, according to research by procurement monitor Tussell.
The revelation comes after Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, told MPs that they were among seven 'mercenary' firms to be investigated and potentially banned from winning any future public contracts over their role in the fire.
Ms Rayner claimed the companies had 'put profit before people' and 'shown little remorse' since the fire, which killed 72 people.
Rydon, which oversaw the tower's renovation with flammable cladding between 2012 and 2016, has won 13 contracts worth £227 million since the blaze. They included a £99 million tender, awarded by Ealing borough council in October 2019, to regenerate the 1970s-era High Lane Estate in west London.
The firm also won a £38 million contract from Sutton council in September 2022 to build 92 new homes.
Sir Martin Moore-Bick, chairman of the Grenfell inquiry, found in his final report last year that Rydon had taken 'a casual approach' to fire safety during the project.
Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK, the parent company of insulation supplier Celotex, has won 61 contracts worth a total of £127 million since 2017.
They included a £70 million contract from Milton Keynes council to regenerate the 1970s-era Lakes Estate and £35 million from Sheffield city council to re-roof local authority properties in the South Yorkshire city.
The inquiry's report found that Celotex had engaged in 'systematic dishonesty' when selling the insulation for the refurbishment.
Kingspan, which has won nine contracts worth £886,000 in total, provided an insulation product used in the refurbishment which the inquiry found had been marketed with 'dishonesty'.
Exova, a firm that has since won one £516,000 contract from a housing association advertised on public sector portals, was commissioned to prepare a fire safety strategy for the Grenfell refurbishment but never completed the task.
The announcement by Ms Rayner on Wednesday came as the Government formally responded to the recommendations set out in the inquiry's final report last September.
The MP, who is also the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, said: 'Companies must be held to account'.
The seven organisations being investigated are: Arconic Architectural Products SAS; Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK Limited, which previously owned Celotex Limited; Exova (UK) Limited; Harley Facades Limited; Kingspan Insulation Limited; Rydon Maintenance Limited; and Studio E Architects Limited.
In a written statement, Georgia Gould, the Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary, said the firms would be investigated under new debarment powers in the Procurement Act 2023.
The Cabinet Office, Rydon, Saint-Gobain Construction Products UK and Kingspan were approached for comment.
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