Skanska and Serco consortium wins £600 million prison deal

A Skanska/Serco consortium has been selected by the UK government's National Offender Management Service (NOMS) as the preferred bidder to provide and operate two new prisons at Belmarsh West, London and Maghull, Liverpool. The deal worth around £600millon will see Serco manage the prisons And Skanska build them. Serco will now finalise commercial arrangements with NOMS. It is anticipated that construction of the prisons, by Serco's construction partner Skanska, will begin in the first half of 2010, with completion in the second half of 2011. Equity and debt finance will be provided by third parties.

The prisons will be designed and built to Category B standards, and will accommodate up to 900 male prisoners for Belmarsh West and 800 for Maghull. As well as ensuring a secure and safe environment, Serco will use its operational expertise to ensure a highly effective and efficient prison design, to train and mentor new staff and to deliver a range of innovative services. In conjunction with its partners Turning Point and Catch22, Serco will seek to create an environment for change in order to discourage offenders from reoffending and prepare them for employment on release, and will also support effective delivery of services such as healthcare and education in conjunction with other providers.

Christopher Hyman, chief executive of Serco Group, said: "We are proud to extend our partnership with the Ministry of Justice and NOMS. ...We are committed to providing safe, secure and cost effective regimes and offender accommodation that reduce reoffending and which support offenders in leading more fulfilling lives once they have been released. Governments around the world are facing increasing justice and homeland security challenges, and we are seeing significant opportunities to use our skills to support them."

Construction is set to start in the first half of 2010, with completion in the second half of 2011.