Willmott Dixon clinches £32m St Helens Academy deal

Willmott Dixon has beaten rival Balfour Beatty to be awarded preferred bidder status for the £32m Hope Academy in St Helens.

CJ understands that St Helens Council told the bidders of the competition's result last week.

A source said: "Willmott Dixon went toe to toe with Balfour, which had one of its best teams on it, but it looks like Willmott has got it."

Willmott Dixon is set to start work in September on the academy, which will be built on the site of the existing Newton-Le-Willows High School and will accommodate 1,650 students.

The school, which will feature wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and biomass boilers, will provide a BREEAM rating of 'excellent'.

The winning contractor will now work with St Helens Council and the sponsors, Liverpool Diocese of the Church of England, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University over the next 12 weeks before planning is submitted and the detailed design proposals developed.

Financial close on the scheme is scheduled for June and the academy is scheduled to be completed in 2011, and will be open in time for the start of the new academic year.

The win is Willmott Dixon's third against a multi-billion-pound contractor on education schemes in less than a year.

It beat Laing O'Rourke to the £90m Middlesborough BSF scheme and also triumphed against Kier on the £16m Rochdale academy, both in the summer of 2008.