May Gurney to appeal loss of £350m maintenance deal

May Gurney is launching an appeal after being dropped from the short list of new bidders for a £350m highways deal it has been working on for nine years.

May Gurney won the £35m-a-year highways maintenance contract from Norfolk County Council in 2004 and has worked-through potential break clauses after five and eight years.

The deal comes to an end in April 2014 and May Gurney has been told it will not be in the race for the new five-year contract.

The company said: “May Gurney has received preliminary notification from Norfolk County Council that it has not been selected on to the short-list in relation to the re-bid of the Norfolk County Council highway and related services procurement contract A, which is due to commence on 1st April 2014 for an initial period of five years.

“We are naturally disappointed with the County Council’s decision and have started a formal appeal process with them.

“We will provide an update on this in due course. In the meantime May Gurney remains fully committed to continuing to deliver a quality service under the terms of the current contract.”

May Gurney is currently the focus of a takeover battle between Costain and Kier.