Arc Partnership: Ten years of delivering real value, together

In June 2026, Arc Partnership celebrates ten years of transforming property services delivery for Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC), a public-public joint venture between NCC and SCAPE built on shared ambition, commercial expertise and long-term commitment.

Established to address funding uncertainty, skills retention challenges and service inefficiencies, Arc Partnership has evolved into a high-performing organisation delivering multidisciplinary design, construction, maintenance, estates and regeneration services. With an exclusive contract to 2031, Arc Partnership provides NCC with transparency, governance and strategic alignment, while leveraging SCAPE’s enterprise capability and procurement expertise.

Since 2016, NCC has commissioned over £441m of work through Arc Partnership, spanning 3,854 projects, more than 50,000 reactive maintenance calls and 73,500 servicing visits. The partnership has created a resilient, expert local workforce of over 100 professionals, retained critical public sector skills and reduced reliance on external consultancy.

Arc Partnership’s success is rooted in collaboration, commercial discipline and continuous improvement, from achieving ISO 19650 accreditation to accelerating regeneration and development opportunities across Nottinghamshire, and it’s award-winning strategic partnership with Nottingham Trent University. As a contracting authority, Arc Partnership also drives value through compliant, SME-focused procurement, with 93% of spend delivered through local businesses.

In 2025, for every £1 invested by NCC, £1.63 of social value was generated, alongside strong customer satisfaction, consistent on-time and on-budget delivery, and more than £1m in dividends returned to each shareholder.

Ten years on, Arc Partnership stands as a national exemplar of how public-public partnerships can protect expertise, unlock opportunity and deliver lasting economic and community impact.

"It has been a great source of pride to see the development of Arc Partnership in supporting Nottinghamshire County Council. We are fortunate to have local government shareholders at SCAPE that believed in the vision we shared with NCC at the outset. We have established a unique organisation that has leveraged the benefits of strategic outsourcing, but remains under the close control of NCC; retaining local professional skills lost to many Councils, leveraging procurement for effective delivery from local suppliers, delivering a consistently good quality of service and with the commercial strength to ensure good value for NCC when it invests in projects. At SCAPE we operate for the public sector across the UK and our customers look at Arc as an exemplar. Our local authority shareholders have secured a return on their initial investment in Arc which, while modest is important in supporting public finances. More importantly, the impact on service in Nottinghamshire has been transformative."

Mark Robinson, SCAPE Group Chief Executive and Board Chairman, Arc Partnership

"Arc Partnership constantly delivers value for money and does a great job supporting us to create an efficient, safe and sustainable land and property portfolio, helping to deliver more integrated customer-focused services, value for money as well as supporting regeneration and economic growth. To date, Arc Partnership has delivered 3,511 projects – which equates to more than £394 million worth of investment, of which an impressive £344m has been spent locally. This is fantastic news for the local economy; they’re dealing with businesses here in Nottinghamshire and employing local people – with 95% of its team living locally, which is incredible. You also must remember a lot of this has been delivered during a time when local authorities have faced extremely difficult financial challenges in addition to the pressures brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic."

Wayne Bexton, Director of Economy, Environment and Assets, Nottinghamshire County Council and Arc Partnership Board Director

"Working with Arc Partnership has been hugely beneficial for our business; we can build on a stable base of at least £0.5m a year of work for the Council, supporting other defence and public sector clients in the region and delivering our long-term growth objectives"

Steve Middleton, Owner and Managing Director, Lukes & Godwin (Nottinghamshire-based SME, electrical maintenance and project subcontractor)

"We are proud of our heritage and excited about the future alongside Arc. With a strong partnership, a commitment to sustainability, and deep local roots, Miller Freeman and Sons continues to play a vital role in building a greener, more resilient community alongside Arc Partnership."

James Shaw, Director, Miller Freeman and Sons (Nottinghamshire-based SME, plumbing and heating solutions and project subcontractor)