Leeds – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary (“DLA Piper”) has advised the project company and senior funder that reached financial close on a £22m PFI project to design, build, operate and finance three special schools for Kirklees Metropolitan Council.
DLA Piper advised both Wates PFI Investments Limited and senior lender NIB Capital Bank NV.
Three newbuild special schools, designed specifically for children with special needs and learning difficulties, will be built at sites in Huddersfield, Heckmondwike and Dewsbury, all within the Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire. The Dewsbury site will also benefit from refurbishment works on the existing facilities.
The DLA Piper team was led by commercial & projects partners Tony Randle and Nick Maltby, and banking partner Nicholas Iliff, with commercial & projects associate Nick Helm.
Tony Randle, DLA Piper’s Head of Education PFI, said: “This was an important project to take to financial close, given its history. We are delighted for our clients Wates and NIB, and also for Kirklees Council and the special schools community of Kirklees. This deal further emphasises DLA Piper’s Education PFI credentials. Nationally, DLA Piper has advised on six Education PFI Projects that have closed during the last 13 months alone. We now look forward to working on the Building Schools for the Future programme.”
Nick Maltby, DLA Piper Leeds Projects Partner said: “This is the fifth PFI project that the DLA Piper Leeds office has closed in the last 13 months that will impact on the Leeds and West Yorkshire region. Three of the projects were for schools, and the other two related to social housing in Leeds and a new cancer treatment facility at St James Hospital in Leeds worth £230m. DLA Piper is proud of both its local and national track record.”
DLA Piper has now completed 30 PFI school projects in the UK for the government, contractors and banks and is now working on the new procurement strategy for replacing and refurbishing state schools in the UK, the Building Schools for the Future programme. This is based on the establishment of strategic partnerships under which procuring bodies will place not one but a number of new school projects over the life of the partnership. The programme is valued at up to £20 billion.
