2.4 The Home Office requested Further Best and Final Offers from all bidders to test the value for money of the variant bid. In seeking a further round of bids, potential bidders were facing large additional costs in reworking their accommodation proposals. As a result, there was a high likelihood that competitive tension could be compromised if bidders were unwilling to incur these costs. The Home Office took advice from Partnerships UK and from its advisers and decided to contribute towards bidding costs. It proposed paying up to two thirds of costs incurred after 10 April 1999 subject to a £630,000 cap. One of the initial bidders dropped out of the competition since it was not prepared to develop proposals to redevelop 2 Marsham Street. As the two remaining bidders, AGP and CASL6, put in two competitive bids, the Home Office considers that taking the exceptional decision to pay a contribution to bidding costs was justified although the amount to be paid to CASL is not yet finalised.
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6 The competing FBAFO bid was submitted by CASL, a consortium comprising Bovis Lendlease, Johnson Controls, Stanhope, Richard Ellis and Sumitomo Bank.