Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
16 November 2005


16 November 2005


           BALFOUR BEATTY APPOINTED PREFERRED BIDDER FOR £190 MILLION
                     NORTHERN BATCHED HOSPITALS PFI PROJECTS
                     =======================================

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that its specialist healthcare concession company, Consort
Healthcare, has been appointed preferred bidder for the £190 million Northern
Batched Hospitals project in Greater Manchester.

The project comprises two hospital development schemes. In Salford, Consort will
redevelop and provide new buildings for Hope Hospital under a 34-year PFI
concession contract with a capital value of £130 million. In Tameside, Consort
will design and build a new acute and mental health facility at Tameside General
Hospital under a concession contract worth £60 million.

It is anticipated that financial close for the schemes will be achieved in early
2007.

Commenting on the award today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:

'We are delighted to have been selected to create first-class healthcare
facilities for the people of Salford and Tameside and for the staff in the
facilities which serve them. These will be our seventh and eighth major PFI
hospital schemes. We have proven skills and a first-class track record in this
specialist area and are now a clear leader in the field.'

In Salford, a number of new buildings will be constructed, including an
education centre, an emergency department extension, an assessment unit, a
critical care unit, a heart care unit, an intestinal failure unit, new renal and
urology units and residential accommodation for hospital staff.

In Tameside, a number of new buildings will be constructed, including a new
mental health unit for the elderly, a ward block, a day surgery and an endoscopy
unit and extensions to theatres, radiology, diagnostic and treatment centres.

Balfour Beatty now has eight major PFI hospital schemes. New hospitals in
Edinburgh, Durham and at University College London (UCLH) are now operational.
UCLH Phase I was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen on Thursday 20
October. The new Blackburn Hospital is due to open in the summer of 2006.
Financial close on the new £521 million Birmingham Hospital is expected in the
near future. A revised plan for the £250 million scheme at Pinderfields in
Yorkshire was recently approved, with financial close anticipated during 2006.

In total, the eight schemes represent Balfour Beatty equity investment of some
£90 million.

Earlier this year, Balfour Beatty Construction was appointed preferred bidder,
through concession company, Canmore, for the construction work on the £160
million project to create two new Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Centres at
Stobhill Hospital and Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow.

                                      ENDS

Enquires to:
Tim Sharp
Tel: [phone]
www.balfourbeatty.com


Notes to Editors
----------------

1.  Consort Healthcare is a committed and experienced provider of serviced
    healthcare accommodation under the UK Private Finance Initiative.

2.  It delivers and maintains healthcare assets, principally through the use of
    Balfour Beatty Group companies:

    -  Balfour Beatty Construction : construction planning and execution
    -  Haden Young and Balfour Kilpatrick : electrical and mechanical services
    -  Haden Building Management : support services and facilities management.

3.  Balfour Beatty's approach to PFI healthcare projects provides:

    -  continuity and efficiency through all phases of the project
    -  rapid progress on financial arrangements
    -  competitively priced bids
    -  long-term commitment
    -  strength and depth of expertise from one source.

4.  Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction and services
    group, well positioned in infrastructure markets which offer significant 
    growth potential. Its partnerships with public and private customers 
    generate secure, sustainable income. Its financial position, with 
    significant net cash and with strong operating cash flows, offers 
    continuing flexibility to add additional capacity and expertise to the 
    business mix and to make appropriate investments in PPP and other long-term
    growth opportunities.




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