Express & Star

Carillion wins more contracts

There was more good news for struggling Carillion today as it won two new support services contracts.

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Carillion's head office in Wolverhampton

Its joint venture has been awarded the Defence Infrastructure Organisation's project Hestia soft facilities management contracts for the the North of England and Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have a revenue value of £158 million for five years.

They follow on from the previous award of the South East and London contract by DIO to the joint venture earlier this year.

The contracts offer the opportunity to double the £158m in the five-year period through catering and retail sales.

The Carillion joint venture will deliver services, including catering, retail and leisure, together with hotel and mess services. The North contract will employ around 1,500 people, covering 130 military establishments and will go live at the beginning of January 2018.

The Scotland and Northern Ireland region contract will go live at the beginning of November this year and covers a further 103 military establishments and will employ around 1,030.

Carillion interim chief executive, Keith Cochrane, said: "We are delighted to be awarded these contracts. The DIO is a key support services customer with whom we have built a long-term successful partnership. We are committed to building on this relationship and on our position as a leading supplier to the DIO by using our core skills and capabilities to deliver high-quality services.

"These contracts play a critical role in supporting our armed forces and they have a number of unique aspects that require a specific, regional focus. They will enable us to create further training and employment opportunities for ex-services personnel in support of our commitment to the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant."

Construction and support services group Carillion, which has its headquarters in Wolverhampton, yesterday drafted in accountancy giant Ernst and Young to help carry out a review of the business as it fights for its survival.

Last week it suffered a dramatic collapse in its share price after announcing a profit warning which saw almost £600 million wiped from its value.

Chief executive Richard Howson stepped down with immediate effect as the group said it would need to bolster its balance sheet and was struggling to stay within its borrowing limits.

Carillion was also yesterday named among the firms awarded contracts for the building of phase one of the HS2 rail line.

Carillion, which employs 400 at its headquarters and 43,000 around the globe, has also drafted in the bank HSBC as an adviser and corporate broker working alongside Morgan Stanley, Lazard and Stifel.