GroundSure wins contract with Barclays Bank

GroundSure is pleased to announce its success in winning a competitive tender contract with Barclays Bank for the provision of environmental risk screening services to for the coming three years. The core element of the risk screening service to Barclays Bank, is the GroundSure SiteGuard report.

For the last four years GroundSure has been providing GroundSure SiteGuard to Barclays Bank as a result of collaborative working between GroundSure and the Environmental Risk team at Barclays to support the overall credit risk process for the bank when considering secured lending arrangements.

Dan Montagnani, General Manager, GroundSure commented, "The renewal of this service provision through a competitive tender process underlines GroundSure's position as the market leader in the provision of environmental risk screening services in the UK. As a leader in environmental risk management in the banking sector, Barclays Bank has some very high expectations and requirements. GroundSure is very happy to fulfil these."

Barclays has traditionally led its field with regard to the consideration of environmental issues in the lending sector. A co-founder of the Equator Principles in May 2003, Barclays has been actively considering and managing environmental risk through its business since the early 1990s.

"GroundSure's breadth of expertise covering data management, technical consultancy capability, "know-how" with regard to lender liability and very high services levels, makes GroundSure a compelling proposition when supporting and working with the Bank in this way," commented Alistair Wright, Head of Environmental Risk, Barclays Corporate Banking.

GroundSure SiteGuard is a risk screening report designed specifically for the banking sector. It is designed to support valuers in completing their instructions from the bank that make specific reference to the need to consider environmental risk issues through the course of the valuation. The RICS Valuations Standards make explicit reference to the need for valuation surveyors to fulfill such client instructions and not rely upon the use of caveats within their valuation report.

The vast majority of valuation surveyors do not carry professional indemnity insurance for commenting on potential impacts on value due to environmental risk. GroundSure SiteGuard enables this gap to be filled by providing both the lender, valuer and the bank's customer with recourse to GroundSure for such advice. The GroundSure SiteGuard report is typically appended to the valuation itself.

GroundSure SiteGuard is available from GroundSure and our authorised distribution partners and can be used in any bank valuation in the Great Britain.

Barclays Bank

GroundSure SiteGuard

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors