Islington chooses Kier

by Tim Wood



Islington Council has chosen Kier Group, the international construction and services company, as a trading partner for a major outsourcing contract under the government's best value programme.

Kier will establish a partnership company with the local authority to carry out a programme of building and housing maintenance worth £120m over 10 years.

The partnership company will take activities over from the council's current in-house provider in October 2000. About 530 employees will transfer to the new company, which will trade as part of Kier's rapidly growing facilities services division. Among its duties will be day-to-day repairs of housing stock, gas maintenance and routine maintenance such as building cleaning and painting.

The contract underlines Kier's commitment to facilities management following the recent signing of support services contracts worth £165m at the Neath & Port Talbot hospital and Pembroke Dock school in south Wales under the Private Finance Initiative.