Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[email address]

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

Dear Alan Malarkey

Freedom of information request - FOI/9758

Subject: Due diligence Polaska Limited Purley Leisure Centre

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.

If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why, and details of how you
may appeal.

Please note that the directorate team may contact you for further
information where we believe that the request is not significantly clear
for us to respond fully. 

Kind Regard

Information Management Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[email address]

Dear Alan Malarkey

Request FOI/9758

Further to your request received on 22/04/2024, I confirm that the Council
has now considered your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to
your request. Specifically, you have requested the following information:

"FOI Request

Please provide information and minutes of meeting and correspondence on
the Due Diligence process relating to Purley Pool and Leisure Centre and
in respect of Polaska Limited Companies UK and BVA and their suitability
and competence to deliver the project related to the Pool/Leisure Centre
and Elderly Care units.
including
* Past performance relating to similar developments
* Staff capacity and capability
* Financial viability & strength of audit
* Risk management
"What do their most recent audited financial statements tell us?
What are the levels of cash, debtors, creditors and other outstanding
liabilities?"

Response

The Council is aware that Polaska is registered in British Virgin Islands
and are under no obligation to publish audited accounts. Therefore, in
recognising the limited independently verified information that is
available to the council regarding Polaska's historic financial and
business performance, the council's due diligence focuses on contractual
assurance it will receive as part of Council’s land deal with this
developer and further assurances it will receive regarding the scheme's
financial viability and delivery risks. These are considered key in
determining the schemes successful and timely completion.

The Council is mindful that Polaska is a private company and details of
its staff and the basis and terms under which it engages its employees and
consultants are outside the Council’s control. However, the council is
able to confirm that over the last 18 months it has been working closely
with Polaska's current development and project management teams. The
Council notes that Polaska has held a long-term interest in the site with
a long lease going back to 2004. They have further expressed and
demonstrated their wish to comprehensively redevelop the site and has
engaged in various discussion with the council in seeking to develop the
site, for over the last 5 years. The Council is, as far as possible at
this stage, assured of the capacity of Polaska as a developer, however,
the deliverability of their proposals will continue to be reviewed and
assessed.

As part of the management of Polaska’s development proposal, LBC has
introduced an internal project management team representing key personal
from across the council. The project team meets on a regular basis with
Polaska in considering all matters relating to the Council’s land holding
and the development of the scheme outside the Council Local Planning
Authority function, including the potential land arrangements that
facilitates the development and the protection of the council's interests.
Polaska and the councils acknowledges that these detailed discussions are
commercially sensitive.

As part of the council's scheme project management activities, the council
has created a risk registered where it seeks to identify and manage the
key development and delivery risks associated with the scheme. This is
supported by information provided by Polaska and is also viewed as
commercially sensitive.

The Council will protect its interest in the delivery of the scheme by
entering into a new lease arrangement, and a legally binding development
agreement that will set out the obligations to which Polaska will need to
adhere as part of the scheme's build, to protect the Council’s interests.
To date both parties have signed up to the underlining principle of this
agreement, which is confirmed in the scheme Heads of Terms which was
agreed by Cabinet in November 2023.

The Development Agreement will ensure that the council has amongst other
things, oversight of the scheme's principal funders, the schemes finances
and delivery programme and that the council is able to independently test
the schemes overall viability. These controls make up the key components
of the Council’s due diligence. The council is aware that a version of the
scheme viability report is available to the public as part of Polaska's
planning application. The council working with Polaska will continue to
review this ahead of the scheme corporate approval.
 

The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)

To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:

[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)

If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has handled your request
under the Environmental Information Regulations you may ask for an
internal review. This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of
this response. You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint
by:

Email:        [2][email address]

Writing:     Information Team

London Borough of Croydon

Bernard Weatherill House

Floor 7 - Zone B
8 Mint Walk

Croydon, CR0 1EA

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Information Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

Bernard Wetherill House,

Mint Walk,

Croydon,

CR0 1EA

[3][email address]

[4][email address]

References

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