01
Pipeline Summary
The variation pipeline stands at £482k across 26 items and six contracts. Of this, £146k is approved (30%) and a further £134k is submitted and awaiting client response (28%). The pipeline is healthy in structure — the majority of value is in mid-to-late stages — but two key items require action to prevent entitlement risk.
The highest-value single variation is the Whitmore Tower asbestos scope change (£62.4k), approved this period after a two-month negotiation. This was the primary driver of the +0.6pp margin improvement in April. The next critical item is the Mersey Gateway re-measure claim (£31k, submitted) which has a client deadline of 15 May.
Two items totalling £28k are disputed — both on the Riverside FM contract relating to SLA deductions. These are currently being escalated by the Commercial Director and are not expected to be resolved within this reporting period.
02
Pipeline Funnel £482k total
Drafted
Submitted
Review
Approved
⚠
Inv
03
Contract Breakdown
| Contract | Drafted | Submitted | Under review | Approved | Disputed | Invoiced | Total | Items | Recovery % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitmore TowerCBRE · Refurb | 8,200 | 14,600 | — | 62,400 | — | — | 85,200 | 5 | 92% |
| Mersey GatewayPeel Group · Services | — | 31,000 | 24,400 | 18,200 | — | 8,400 | 82,000 | 6 | 86% |
| Cathedral QuarterISG · Fitout | 22,400 | 38,600 | 12,800 | 8,400 | — | — | 82,200 | 5 | 74% |
| Pennine Pkg CKier · Works package | 18,400 | 22,800 | 18,200 | 12,600 | — | 11,600 | 83,600 | 5 | 82% |
| Docklands Phase 2Lendlease · Construction | 19,000 | 27,000 | — | 24,400 | — | — | 70,400 | 3 | 88% |
| Riverside FMMitie · FM Yr 2 | — | — | 30,600 | 20,000 | 28,000 | — | 78,600 | 2 | 56% |
| Total | 68,000 | 134,000 | 86,000 | 146,000 | 28,000 | 20,000 | 482,000 | 26 | 82% |
04
Key Variations — Detail
Approved this period
Whitmore Tower — Asbestos Scope
VAR-WT-007 · CBRE · Approved 18 April 2026
£62,400
Asbestos discovered during strip-out works on Level 3. Notice issued within 48 hours via Commercial Control Kit™. Specialist removal, additional prelims and programme impact valued at £68k. Agreed at £62.4k after negotiation — a 92% recovery rate. Now included in the April margin position (+£62.4k to portfolio margin).
Margin impact: This single approval was the primary driver of the +0.6pp margin improvement in April. Without it, portfolio margin would have declined for a fourth consecutive period.
Critical deadline
Mersey Gateway — Re-measure Claim
VAR-MG-004 · Peel Group · Submitted 12 April 2026
£31,000
Re-measurement of ductwork quantities following design change. Original submission queried by Peel Group — they requested additional measurement evidence. Commercial Director needs to approve the revised narrative before resubmission. Client deadline: 15 May 2026. Missing this deadline risks losing the entitlement window entirely.
Decision required: Commercial Director to approve re-measure claim by 9 May, allowing 6 days for preparation before the client deadline.
Disputed · £28k
Riverside FM — SLA Deductions
Two deductions (P1 response time £4.8k, evidence gap £3.2k) plus counter-claim for additional reactive works (£20k). Mitie has rejected the counter-claim. Commercial Director escalating through the contract dispute process.
Owner: C. Dean · Expected resolution: 6–8 weeks
In draft · £22.4k
Cathedral Quarter — Design Change
Architect-led design change affecting M&E containment routes on Levels 4–5. Variation notice issued. Narrative being drafted with cause/effect analysis. Target submission: 16 May.
Owner: J. Palmer · Est. value: £22.4k
Under review · £30.6k
Riverside FM — Additional Reactives
Claim for additional reactive works above contractual volume cap. Submitted March, Mitie QS reviewing. Linked to the disputed deductions — resolution may be negotiated together.
Owner: C. Dean · Est. agreement: June
05
Recovery Performance
Conversion funnel — rolling 6 months
Drafted → Submitted94%
Avg 8 days from draft to submission
Submitted → Approved82%
Avg 24 days from submission to approval
Approved → Invoiced68%
Avg 18 days from approval to inclusion in application. Gap: some approved variations not being included in the next billing cycle.
End-to-end recovery76%
Of every £1 of variation identified, £0.76 is eventually recovered and invoiced
Margin impact of pipeline
+0.6pp
This period. £62.4k Whitmore approval added 0.6pp to blended margin — the difference between a declining and improving trend.
+0.8pp
If pipeline converts. Approval of submitted + under-review items (£220k) at 82% recovery would add a further 0.8pp, bringing margin to ~22.2% — above target.
−0.2pp
If disputed items lost. £28k Riverside FM dispute represents 0.2pp of margin. Currently treated as at-risk and excluded from the approved position.
Connected workflow: The variation pipeline is fed by the Commercial Control Kit™ workflow, which structures change capture, evidence organisation and narrative drafting. Contracts using the Kit (Whitmore, Mersey Gateway, Pennine) have an average recovery rate of 87% vs 56% on Riverside FM where it is not yet deployed.
06
Pipeline Actions
Action 1 · Critical
Approve Mersey Gateway re-measure
Commercial Director to approve revised narrative by 9 May. Client deadline 15 May. Value: £31k. Losing entitlement window would be permanent.
Owner: C. Dean · By: 9 May
Action 2 · High
Submit Cathedral Quarter design change
Complete cause/effect narrative and submit to ISG. Variation notice already issued. Target submission 16 May. Value: £22.4k.
Owner: J. Palmer · By: 16 May
Action 3 · Process
Include approved variations in next billing
£126k of approved variations not yet invoiced. Ensure all approved items are included in next monthly application cycle. Gap between approval and invoicing averaging 18 days — should be immediate.
Owner: K. Hughes · By: Next billing cycle