A Carillion joint venture (JV) has achieved financial close on the Midlands Priority School Building Programme.

Using the UK Government's PF2 model, the 25-year private finance concession contract will generate £187m of construction and support services revenue.

Carillion will invest £5.5m of equity in the project and build the schools at a capital cost of £138m.

Hard facilities management and life-cycle maintenance services will also be delivered by Carillion which is expected to generate £49m of revenue over the life of the contract.

The Schools in the Midlands Priority Programme are:


• Alfreton Grange Arts College, Derbyshire.

• ARK Kings Academy, Birmingham.

• Greenwood Academy, Birmingham.

• Plantsbrook School, Birmingham.

• President Kennedy School, Coventry.

• The Phoenix Collegiate, Sandwell.

• The Queen Elizabeth Academy, Warwickshire.

• Top Valley Academy, Nottingham.

Carillion has stated it will use this project as a further opportunity to provide training and apprenticeship opportunities as well as maximising the use of local suppliers.

Carillion Chief Executive, Richard Howson, said: "We are delighted to have achieved financial close on this important schools programme. Carillion is a market leader in the education sector, having delivered some 150 schools over recent years, many of which were Public Private Partnership projects.

"This latest project has been an excellent example of collaboration between the public and private sectors and we look forward to working with the Education Funding Agency to deliver state of the art facilities to support its objectives for creating outstanding learning environments for students."

(LM)