Redstone eyes BSF glory

VAR targets £500m of Building Schools for the Future deals

VAR Redstone is aiming to secure a 10 per cent slice of the lucrative Building Schools for the Future (BSF) market after bagging preferred bidder status for a £150m contract in Birmingham.

Under the BSF programme every local authority will receive government funding to rebuild and remodel at least three schools in the greatest need by 2011.

Martin Balaam, chief executive officer of Redstone, said: “The total amount being spent on the schools is about £45bn, with an estimated 10 per cent of that being budgeted for ICT projects. Redstone would like to achieve £500m worth of
BSF contracts.”

Balaam said Redstone, which is also bidding on contracts in Thameside, Salford and Wigan, aims to bid on three BSF contracts a year.