Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has announced that it has reached financial close for two schools schemes, the Ealing Schools programme and the Oldham Schools programme, worth £53 million each.

Balfour Beatty, in partnership with Ealing Council, will deliver the new PPP Dormers Wells High School, Southall and will carry out a major refurbishment and partial rebuild of The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Greenford. Balfour Beatty will invest equity of up to £2.7 million into the 25-year concession for Dormers Wells High School.


Balfour Beatty, in partnership with Oldham Borough Council, will deliver a new PPP Roman Catholic secondary school in Oldham, which will bring together two existing mainstream schools, Our Lady's and St Augustine's. Balfour Beatty will also extensively remodel the North Chadderton school. Balfour Beatty will invest equity of £3.5 million into the 25-year PPP concession for the delivery of the new Roman Catholic School.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: "These schemes represent significant investments in education in both Ealing and Oldham. We look forward to delivering these first-class learning environments for the pupils and their teachers while demonstrating our commitment to the local communities through an employment and skills pledge that will leave a lasting skills legacy."

All construction and facilities management will be carried out by Balfour Beatty. Both schemes include a major investment in the schools' information and communication technology (ICT).

The main construction and refurbishment works for the schools on both schemes will commence in early 2011.

(CD/GK)