Balfour Beatty - Mixed-Use Development - Knowsley, Balfour Lands £157m School Project
Date: 18 Dec 2006
Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group, announces today that its specialist education PPP concession company, Transform Schools, has been appointed preferred bidder by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council on Merseyside for the £157 million PPP concession to construct seven new learning centres under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
The concession which is for 25 years is anticipated to reach financial close in the spring of 2007. It will provide seven state-of-the-art learning centres which will replace all of the Borough's existing secondary schools over a 3-year period.
Transform Schools will work with Knowsley Council not only in the building and management of the new premises, but also in the further development of a clear educational vision through researching and evaluating progressive learning environments and teaching models in the UK and internationally. The partnership may also involve the development of a not-for-profit company to manage the extended use of the facilities and an employment and training hub to maximise local employment, training and development opportunities.
Commenting today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:
"We are delighted to have been chosen by Knowsley Council to be their partner in this exciting project which will transform education provision in the area. We bring the experience gained not only from our work on five major schools PFI schemes but also lessons learned from project-based learning schemes in the UK, US, Australia and Asia."
Councillor Ron Round, Leader of Knowsley Council said:
"This is a very exciting stage in the Building Schools for the Future programme. We are a step closer to making our dreams to transform education in the borough a reality.
"No other local authority in the BSF programme has such ambitious plans as Knowsley to replace all of its existing buildings. This shows our vision and commitment to improving the opportunities for all our residents. We now look forward to working with Transform and unveiling our exciting plans early in the new year."
Construction and building services work under the contract will be carried out by Balfour Beatty Construction and Balfour Kilpatrick. The maintenance of the schools will be undertaken by Haden Building Management, also a subsidiary of Balfour Beatty.
Balfour Beatty will invest £19 million of equity in the project which will bring its overall equity commitment to the education sector up to almost £50 million.
It is Balfour Beatty's sixth major schools PFI project and its first as a concession company under the BSF scheme. Its projects at Stoke and Rotherham are in their sixth and fourth year of operation, respectively. Projects in North Lanarkshire and Bassetlaw began in the summer of 2005 and its Birmingham PP2 concession became operational in April of this year.
The company is also one of the two framework contractors who are providing construction services to the £160 million BSF scheme for Manchester City Council.
In his recent pre-budget statement, Chancellor Gordon Brown reconfirmed his commitment to rebuilding or renewing every one of England's 3,500 state secondary schools over a 15-year period at a total cost of over £45 billion.
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