OXFORD: GBS Architects, based in the city's Becket Street, has beaten more than 50 other practices from across the UK to retain the framework agreement with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust for a further four years. The firm has been operating the contract for the past eight years and more than 500 hospital projects with a combined value of about £50m have been designed, managed and handed over. Partner Nigel Spawton, who is responsible for work carried out by the practice's healthcare division, said: "This is a huge achievement for GBS and represents a great deal of effort on the part of all our staff."

"We enjoy an excellent working relationship with staff and patients in the various hospital departments with which we deal and we look forward to expanding the many architectural and support services we offer."