Interserve gets schools project contract

Interserve said its consortium, Environments for Learning (E4L), has achieved financial close on the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contract with Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.The group will deliver construction and facilities management (FM) services worth more than £280m in Sandwell's major schools development programme.Interserve will invest £2.1m of equity and subordinated debt in the project, representing 36% of the whole. Its consortium financial partner is Barclays Private Equity.Construction will involve both new build and major refurbishment and will include a mix of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and conventional design and build projects."This is going to make a huge difference for the community in Sandwell," said Adrian Ringrose, Interserve's Chief Executive. "We know from experience that working in true partnership with a progressive council such as Sandwell will enable us to deliver the kind of learning environments that will transform the education of the children here," he added.