Review of the BSF Programme

RNS Number : 8695O

RM PLC

06 July 2010

 



6 July 2010

Review of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme

On 5 July, the Department for Education announced a major review of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The key elements of this announcement were:

·      44 existing BSF projects which have reached financial close will continue as planned.

·      BSF projects which are 'close to' financial close (that is: where preferred bidders have been appointed) and Academies included in BSF projects will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

·      All other BSF projects will be stopped. The Secretary of State said, "Rebuilding and refurbishment projects may go ahead under future capital investment programmes, shaped by the capital review - but they will no longer be funded under the existing programme."

RM has reached financial close on 14 BSF projects. The large majority of the BSF schools RM had anticipated delivering in FY-2010 and FY-2011 are part of these 14 projects.

RM has previously announced that it has been appointed preferred bidder for a further seven BSF projects, with a total value of £200m of which £121m was included in the committed revenues figure of £505m disclosed in the Group's interim results announcement. These projects will now be subject to review and may be scaled back significantly.

Bid costs incurred for BSF projects up to preferred bidder stage are expensed in the year they arise.

Terry Sweeney, Chief Executive of RM, said:

"We have strong relationships at individual school, local government and central government levels. With our strong position in the Academy market, we remain confident that RM is well-placed to adapt to changes in capital spending programmes.

"We will continue to analyse the impact of the DfE's review and, as appropriate, update the market in due course."

For further information, please contact:

Iain McIntosh/Phil Hemmings, RM plc	08450 700300
Chris Blundell, Brunswick	020 7404 5959

Notes:

The RM Group is a leading provider of educational solutions that help teachers to teach and learners to learn. RM works closely with educationalists to create new products, processes and technology which improve education. RM is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol RM.L, ISIN GB0002870417. Further details are available at www.rm.com/investors and through the Group's investor blog at rminvestors.wordpress.com

 

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