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Balfour Beatty selected as preferred bidder for £120 million West Sussex National Academies framework

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, investment and services Group, announces today that it has been selected as preferred bidder for the £120 million West Sussex National Academies Framework for West Sussex County Council.

The framework comprises four academy schools being redeveloped across the South Coast with a mixture of both new-build and refurbishment schemes at Littlehampton, Lancing, Shoreham and Midhurst Rother.

Commenting on the award today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:

"We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder for this contract and look forward to delivering West Sussex County Council’s vision to provide a place where all children and young people have the opportunity to enjoy healthy and safe lives as confident, high-achieving learners."

The sample scheme for preferred bidder selection was the £28 million Sir Robert Woodard Academy at Lancing, which will provide a co-educational facility for 1,400 students, aged between 11 and 18 years. Contract award and commencement of the works are expected to be in early 2010.

ENDS

Analyst/media enquiries:

Duncan Murray
Balfour Beatty plc
Tel 020 7216 6865

www.balfourbeatty.com

Notes to Editors:

1. Balfour Beatty is the construction partner in the Hackney, Haringey, Greenwich and Stoke-on-Trent Building Schools for the Future schemes, with a total value of almost £500 million, and is also framework contractor providing construction services to both the £180 million scheme for Manchester City Council and the £100 million scheme in Liverpool.
   
   
2. Balfour Beatty has nine PPP concessions in the education sector: three in the UK under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in Southwark, Islington and Knowsley; five in the UK under earlier PPP models at Stoke, Bassetlaw, Rotherham, Birmingham and North Lanarkshire; and one in Singapore, the Institute of Technical Education, College West.
   
   These programmes involve the construction of approximately 100 new schools and learning centres and upgrading and maintaining well over 100 others. Balfour Beatty has approximately £60 million of committed equity in the sector.
   
   
3. The National Academies Framework procure the design and build of Academies in local authorities which are not yet engaged with the Building Schools for the Future (BSF). They support local authorities in their role as contracting authority, providing them with national programme management, support for their local educational vision and strategy.
   
   
4. Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business, well-positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant long-term growth. We work in partnership with sophisticated customers who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise. Our skills are applied in appropriate combinations to meet individual customer needs.