The City of Edinburgh Council and Axiom Education (Edinburgh) Ltd, have signed a public private partnership project agreement for a £180 million capital investment scheme to build six new secondary schools and two new primary schools. 

As part of the consortium, MITIE will provide a full range of FM Services over the 30 year agreement. This is the largest PFI service agreement signed by MITIE to date, and confirms the position of MITIE as a significant player in the Education PFI market. 

The scope of services delivered by MITIE includes: overall management and helpdesk services; planned and lifecycle maintenance of the buildings, grounds and sports facilities; janitorial services; cleaning; security; waste management; energy management; catering; pest control and grounds maintenance. The first school will open in August 2008 with the remainder coming on stream by January 2010. 

Sustainability is increasingly important in new schemes and it is noteworthy that this project is targeted as ’excellent‘ in the Building Research Establishment rating. In order to meet the Council’s carbon target, seven of the schools will use biomass fuel as the primary source of heating and the eighth school, in Tynecastle, will be heated by the waste heat produced from the adjacent North British Distillery. 

Managing Director of MITIE’s PFI division, Michael Woodhead, commented “We are very excited about entering into one of the most important contracts we have signed to date and are very pleased to be starting this 30 year relationship” 

Released: 25th April 2007 

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Notes for editors 

For further information, contact: 

David Revis, PR and IR Manager, MITIE Group PLC
T: 020 7407 0063 M : 07979 702465 E: david.revis@mitie.co.uk

Notes to Editors 

MITIE Group PLC

MITIE is one of the UK’s leading support services companies, delivering facilities, engineering and property services to more than 6,000 public and private sector clients. It is also one of the UK’s largest employers with over 45,000 people supporting customers every day.

MITIE provides all of the facilities services that organisations may wish to outsource including Catering, Cleaning, Document Management, Front of House Services, Energy Services, Engineering Maintenance, Facilities Management, Landscaping, Grounds Maintenance, Pest Control, Security and Waste and Environmental Services. MITIE also offers engineering and property services, improving buildings for its customers by providing Building Refurbishment, Fit-Out and Maintenance Services, together with Mechanical & Electrical Engineering.

MITIE’s unique share ownership ethos ‘Management Incentive Through Investment Equity’ (MITIE) encourages our employees to focus on what our customers want. MITIE’s success in delivering sustainable growth, through responsible and proactive engagement with stakeholders, has enabled the Group to become a FTSE 250 company, achieving annual revenues of over £1bn. 

MITIE PFI is the division within MITIE that specialises in the provision of FM services to schools under PFI schemes and the recent BSF (Building Schools for the Future) initiative. The duration of the contracts entered into are normally between 25 and 30 years and include management, helpdesk, security, cleaning, catering, planned and reactive maintenance, landscaping and lifecycle maintenance.

MITIE PFI has now signed 24 contracts throughout England, Wales and Scotland and will be providing services to 85 schools in primary, secondary and further education. The division operates through a regional structure and has worked with various consortiums that have included major corporate groups and construction companies.