Carillion work taken on by Canadian firm

BROOKFIELD Global Integrated Solutions (BGIS) is to take over UK hospital, education, justice, transport and emergency services contracts from collapsed construction giant Carillion.

The Canadian firm, which describes itself as a global real estate and facility management services provider, said as part of the deal, it will take on more than 2,500 Carillion employees.

In Northern Ireland, a group of managers have said they want to keep ownership of the company’s contracts with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in the province. However, French company Engie is the frontrunner for the deals.

Carillion’s liquidation last month left a debt pile of £900m, a £590m pension deficit and hundreds of millions of pounds in unfinished public contracts.

It is unclear how much the BGIS deal is worth, but it is thought that staff working on the transferred contracts will keep the same terms and conditions.

BGIS boss Gord Hicks said: “This deal provides continuity of services for a large number of customers providing critical infrastructure in the UK market.

“Our team is looking forward to engaging both customers and employees in the days ahead to effect the transaction and ensure a smooth transition.”

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

PwC is handling Carillion’s liquidation, which has so far seen nearly 1,000 jobs lost out of the previous directly-employed workforce of 18,000.