National construction company Morgan Ashurst, part of construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall, is set to start work on a £134 million, public private partnership (PPP) scheme to design and build six new secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.

Morgan Ashurst will be working with joint venture partner AMEC Building and Facilities Services. The contract award – worth £100m to Morgan Ashurst – follows financial close of a 30-year PPP led by consortium InspirED for East Dunbartonshire Council.

As the consortium’s construction partner, Morgan Ashurst will design and build six state-of-the-art secondary schools in Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch and Milngavie.


Muse Developments, also part of Morgan Sindall will develop the schools’ surplus sites for mixed-use commercial and residential accommodation.

“The award of this significant construction project reinforces Morgan Ashurst’s leading expertise in building schools for the future,” says John Moss, Managing Director of Morgan Ashurst.

“We are looking forward to starting construction and partnering our design and build skills with InspirED and East Dunbartonshire Council to deliver these flagship academic facilities in Scotland.”

The East Dunbartonshire schools PPP scheme is the fourth major education project Morgan Ashurst has secured this year. The award follows the business being recently appointed one of four contractors for a £200m, four-year building refurbishment and redevelopment scheme at the University of Reading as well as being appointed as a framework contractor on the Liverpool Schools Framework and the South Lanarkshire Primary Schools Framework.

Morgan Ashurst, which starts work on all six sites this month, is due to complete the East Dunbartonshire schools scheme in 2009.

(JM/SP)