Carillion joint venture achieves financial close on £192m Rochdale Building Schools for the Future programme

Carillion and its joint venture partners in the Local Education Partnership (LEP) have achieved financial close for the Rochdale Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, part of the UK Government’s £55 billion BSF programme. This latest success brings the total value of BSF projects won by Carillion to around £1.3 billion and further consolidates the Group’s position as one the leading suppliers to the BSF programme.

The LEP, comprising Rochdale Borough Council, Building Schools for the Future Investments LLP (BSFI) and Carillion, will deliver 13 new or refurbished schools in three phases over a four-year period.

Carillion will carry out the building and refurbishment work for which the capital cost is approximately £180 million, with work due to start this month. Four of the 13 schools will be privately financed by a combination of borrowing and equity. One of these, Hollingworth School, is to be delivered in the first phase, in which Carillion will invest some £2.4 million of equity. Carillion will also invest equity in the other three privately financed schools, in due course. In addition, Carillion expects to provide facilities management services for all four privately financed schools, generating approximately £12 million of revenue over a 25-year concession period.

Commenting, Carillion chief executive, John McDonough, said: “We are delighted to have secured financial close for this major programme and look forward to building a strong and successful relationship with Rochdale, its head teachers and their staff, to provide schools that will enable them to deliver a first-class learning experience for their students, as well as high-quality community facilities.

“This latest success further consolidates Carillion’s position as one of the UK’s leading suppliers to the Government’s £55 billion Building Schools for the Future programme.”