Fulcrum, a fully-owned subsidiary of Meridiam Infrastructure, is involved in six LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) areas: West London, Southwark-Lambeth-Lewisham, South West London, St Helens, Oxford and Bristol. In these areas the company finances builds and/or operates 30 facilities for primary health care and community services. Staffed by a total of 28 people, Fulcrum operates in three offices located in central London, Wimbledon and Warrington.

Through Fulcrum, Meridiam confirms its commitment to providing and operating state-of-the-art public service buildings and to developing exemplar public/private partnerships based on trust and shared objectives between all stakeholders. Since the establishment of its LIFT companies in 2005, Meridiam has invested circa £35 millions for a total project cost of around £415 millions, making it one of the largest private sector investors in the LIFT program nationwide.

Many of Meridiam’s projects have received awards and are recognised as outstanding achievements in the PPP health sector. The developments in Halton, St Helens, Knowsley and Warrington jointly received the 2009 LIFT Area of the Year prize and the Blue Bell Lane project was given the 2009 LIFT Award for Sustainability.

With sizes between 1,000m2 and 9,000m2, the facilities accommodate a wide range of public health services as well as council and leisure services. 25 projects are under operation, 5 additional projects are currently under construction and a further 5 projects are in development. The latest project, added to the portfolio in March 2011, is the Orford Park facility (Warrington) in the north-west of England.

The Orford Park Regeneration Project

The Orford Park Project is a unique regeneration venture undertaken in partnership with Warrington Council and NHS Warrington. It will use sport, leisure, health, education and lifelong learning to increase the health and well-being of the local community.

The £30 million Orford Park project will transform 50 acres of a former landfill site and enhance the facilities of the popular Victorian community park.

The community sports hub building will contain library and community facilities, a swimming pool, an education suite, squash courts and a sports hall. This part of the development will be delivered by Warrington Council and has been partly funded by Sport England and the Regional Development Agency. Fulcrum’s contribution will be to deliver the 2,500m2 healthcare centre which will include 3 general medical practices, a pharmacy and a number of flexible treatment and consultation rooms that will provide high-quality accommodation for NHS Warrington and allow to deliver healthcare services closer to the local community. The project will be complete and open to the public by the beginning of 2012.

The LIFT Programme

The Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) initiative was established by the UK Government in 2000 as a vehicle for partnerships between the public and private sectors for regeneration and the development of facilities for primary health care and community services. So far 49 LIFT companies have been set up through this scheme covering two thirds of England's population. £2.3 billion have been invested in more than 275 buildings that are either open or under construction.

LIFT companies’ shares are typically divided between the local Primary Care Trust (20%), Community Health Partnerships (CHP) (20%) and private shareholders (60%). CHP is an independent company owned by the Department of Health.

Under the LIFT structure, custom-designed facilities are financed, built and maintained by the local LIFT company. The building is then leased back over a 25-year period to the Primary Care Trust concerned. The benefits to the local community are numerous: modern facilities bring a wide range of council and health services closer to people’s homes at an affordable cost; the 25-year agreement encourages a higher standard of construction than in traditional projects, which do not usually integrate maintenance services; and private facility management expertise combines with public sector values to produce buildings that are welcoming, efficient and flexible.