Hopes of new work for Car ill ion fail to impress investors

The prospect of new work as part of a new £2.6billion framework deal over the next four years did little to steady the nerves of investors in troubled construction firm Carillion yesterday.

Carillion, which is one of the three consortium part- ners building the AWPR in and around Aberdeen, is in a battle for survival after a string of profit warnings and an announcement last week that it is danger of breaching financial covenants.

The firm is among nine contractors which have been appointed for a potentially lucrative UK Government framework for the construction of new schools in England, with each project worth more than £12million.

Chief executive Keith Cochrane said: “We are pleased to have re-secured our position on this framework, demonstrating that we continue to retain the confidence of key custom- ers despite the group’s current challenges.”

The UK Government, which has awarded Carillion a series of contracts since details of its financial woes started emerging earlier this year, has said it remains “supportive” of the company.

Carillion saw its shares plummet on Friday, wiping more than £160million off its market value, following its latest profit warning. The stock slipped slightly yesterday, closing down by just over 1% at 21.25p.

Transport Scotland has previously said there is no risk to the AWPR because if any one of the partners withdraws, the others will take on extra obligations.

Keith Cochrane: pleased