Kier buys Trillium's stake in Kent BSF

Kier has bought Telereal Trillium’s investment in Kent’s first Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Local Education Partnership (LEP) for £4.2m.

The deal sees Kier take Trillium's 64% stake in the LEP and includes a 71.8% interest in the PFI projects.

Kier was already in place as the principal construction supply chain partner of the LEP. The contractor will now assume the role of manager of the LEP as well as co-owner alongside Kent County Council, BSFI and Northgate Managed Services (the ICT
provider).

The LEP was established in 2008 to provide 34 secondary schools in Kent to be delivered through three phases of construction, both through the traditional design and build process as well as through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

The first phase of schools includes an existing PFI project with an equity stake of £6.7m to which Kier is now committed.

Kier Group chief executive, John Dodds, said: "We are delighted with this acquisition as it clearly demonstrates not only Kier’s commitment to providing a broad range of construction and support services to the education sector, but also the unique capabilities of our Group to invest in the long term development of the schools’ infrastructure. We look forward to expanding our already close working
relationship with Kent County Council, our other co-owners, the schools involved and our full range of supply chain partners in the region."