Carillion closes on Tameside BSF

Carillion and its joint venture partners in the Local Education Partnership (LEP), have reached financial close on the £300m Tameside Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.The LEP, which comprises Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Building Schools for the Future Investments Limited and Carillion, will initially deliver twelve secondary and special schools, at a capital cost of £173m in the current wave of the BSF programme. This wave will include two privately financed schools on which

Carillion will begin construction in March 2009 and will provide facilities management services over the 25 year concession period, with an approximate value of £21m. All 12 schools in the current wave of the BSF programme will be completed by the end of 2012.

The private finance element of the project is being funded by the usual combination of borrowing and equity, with Barclays providing some £50m of debt finance and the LEP members contributing approximately £4.2m of equity, of which Carillion will provide £3.4m and the other two members £0.4m each.

The LEP will deliver further new schools for Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council in subsequent waves of the BSF programme, with an estimated capital value of £120m, all of which will be completed within the current 10-year contract period.

Commenting, Carillion chief executive, John McDonough, said: “Education is a strong growth sector for Carillion and we are delighted to have reached financial close on another major BSF programme."