May Gurney JV appointed preferred bidder on Lambeth's BSF contract

May Gurney and its joint venture partner have been appointed as the preferred bidder for Lambeth Council's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which is valued at up to £185m and will be delivered through a Local Education Partnership (LEP).

The 10-year contract, which is not dependent upon external equity or debt funding, comprises a complete end-to-end service solution for education including refurbishment, ongoing maintenance and facilities management, information technology and support, with May Gurney as the largest shareholder in the partnership.

During the first five years of the contract, the LEP will deliver educational services, valued at up to £185m, to the Council's secondary school estate. The partnership is anticipated to begin work on the programme in September 2010.

Philip Fellowes-Prynne, May Gurney chief executive, said: "We are delighted to be working with Lambeth Council to deliver its 10-year BSF programme.

"This long-term partnership ably demonstrates May Gurney's expertise in bringing together the right organisations with the right skills to deliver bundled services for local authorities and the communities they serve.

"Our unique approach to collaborative working means that May Gurney is ideally placed to deliver positive outcomes and real value for clients who seek to do more with less."

More than 95% of May Gurney's business is represented by dependable long-term contracts in the public and regulated sectors, which, together with a strong £1.4bn forward order book and healthy pipeline of future opportunities, provides high visibility of earnings.