Update: FPS Environmental Ltd – Property Flood Resilience Framework (PFR2)

By Simon Crowther BEng (Hons) FCIWEM C.WEM MIET, Director at FPS Environmental Ltd.  23rd February 2026

In February 2026, FPS Environmental Ltd served notice to terminate its appointment on the Environment Agency’s Property Flood Resilience (PFR2) Framework.

This decision followed a detailed commercial review and was not taken lightly.

FPS was appointed in 2024 as Primary Lot 1 Delivery Partner for the North-East and North-West regions following a competitive procurement process. Lot 1 comprised the risk assessment and Flood Survey, with FPS subsequently coordinating with the area’s Lot 2 delivery partner, Watertight International, who undertook the installation of the PFR measures.

In preparation for delivery, we invested in governance capacity, insurance and specialist survey capability in order to meet the Framework’s mobilisation requirements.

Over time, however, the volume and distribution of work placed through the Framework in our appointed regions was materially below the level anticipated and marketed at tender stage (circa 10%). While delivery activity progressed in some areas of the country, the workflow in the North-East and North-West did not provide a commercially sustainable basis for maintaining ongoing framework readiness at the scale required.

During subsequent correspondence, the Agency acknowledged at Director level that remaining mobilised under the framework was incurring cost to appointed suppliers. The Agency further clarified:

“For clarity, at the time of tender it was assumed there would be no changes to budget, programme (delivery window) or funding mechanisms. There has been all three which is unprecedented.”

In the absence of a balanced and predictable pipeline in our regions, the operational costs associated with remaining mobilised became disproportionate to the work received.

After careful consideration, we concluded that it was no longer viable for FPS to remain on the Framework under those conditions.

In the absence of any profitable workstreams from the Framework, the only way for FPS to recover its operational costs of the Framework would be to pass these onto other clients. Continuing under that model would have required cross-subsidisation that we were not prepared to adopt.

Accordingly, notice was served in accordance with the NEC4 Framework Agreement. FPS will complete all existing call-off contracts awarded under the Framework and remains fully committed to delivering those projects to the high standards expected of us.

In correspondence following our notice, the Environment Agency thanked FPS for its efforts and commitment to the Framework and indicated that it would welcome our involvement in future Agency competitions.

FPS has also been invited to contribute insight toward the development of future property flood resilience procurement arrangements.

It is, however, disappointing that the current PFR2 model did not prove commercially viable in our regions. The first iteration of the framework was widely documented as having delivery and structural challenges. Following those issues, FPS met with the Small Business Crown Representative at the Cabinet Office to discuss procurement accessibility and SME participation. That discussion is outlined here: FPS Environmental Ltd Meets the Cabinet Office

We were encouraged at that stage to re-engage with future competitions, and did so in good faith when PFR2 was released.

We hope that any future model will reflect the practical delivery lessons learned and support a sustainable, investable supply chain across all regions.

We recognise that public sector programmes operate within evolving fiscal constraints. However, changes to budget, delivery window and funding mechanisms materially alter the commercial assumptions upon which mobilisation decisions are made. Any future model will need to better align pipeline certainty with supplier investment requirements if it is to support a resilient and investable delivery base across all regions.

While we remain committed to supporting national resilience objectives, FPS’ core specialism lies in bespoke flood risk and engineering consulting. Our work focuses on detailed site-specific flood investigation, drainage strategy, and property-level resilience design, delivered through commercially sustainable commissions where scope, risk and delivery obligations are clearly aligned.

We remain proud of the work delivered during our time on the Framework and of the households we have supported.

FPS will continue to operate nationally, providing engineering, flood risk and property flood resilience advice to homeowners, insurers, local authorities and developers.