Balfour Beatty to sell hospital stake

According to reports, Balfour Beatty is selling its chunk of the contract for between £60-£80m.

Barclays Private Equity, HICL and John Laing Infrastructure Fund have been rumored to be interested in the deal, but could still face stiff opposition from Interserve and Semperian PPP Investment Partners, which own the remaining two-thirds of the contract and could have pre-empted rights to own 50% each.

Balfour Beatty won the 32-year contract to design, build and finance the hospital redevelopment in Tottenham Court Road in 2000. UCH was operational by 2005, but faced severe criticism after its costs soared from £120m to £430m.

The sale has been attributed to Balfour Beatty's strategy to make cost savings of £15m by 2015.