Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
26 July 2004


26 July 2004

  BALFOUR BEATTY WINS CONTRACTS IN CENTRAL LONDON TOTALLING UP TO £230 MILLION
  ============================================================================

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that it has been awarded four contracts in central London worth
up to £230 million.

These are as follows:

-   a five-year contract to maintain roads, footpaths and street lights and
    provide a highway maintenance management system for Westminster City 
    Council, worth an initial £13 million per annum, with a possible extension 
    to 15 years;
-   a five-year contract to provide estates and maintenance services to the
    Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust Estate worth £1.8 million per 
    annum for five years;
-   a £22.7 million strategic partnering contract for the regeneration of a
    housing estate in Fulham; and
-   a £6.1 million design & build contract for University College London.

Mike Welton, Chief Executive, Balfour Beatty said:

'We are delighted to win these contracts which demonstrate the depth and
strength of the Group's capabilities. Winning the Westminster contract gives us
a significantly stronger footprint in the London maintenance market.'

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,
long-term 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/PFI and other long-term growth opportunities.

                                      ENDS

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


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

More details on the contracts are as follows:-

ROAD MAINTENANCE:
Westminster City Council has awarded three contracts for highways management,
public lighting and information and communication technology (ICT), valued
jointly at approximately £13 million per annum, to Westminster TranServ.
Westminster TranServ is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty operating
company, RCS, and Mouchel Parkman.

The contracts commence in October 2004, for an initial five years, and include a
possible extension to 15 years, making the award potentially worth £195 million.

The work includes 368 km of road, 672 km of footways and 14,500 street lights.

Westminster Council estimates that over one million people, including residents,
commuters and tourists, tread the streets of Westminster each day.

HEALTHCARE:
Haden Building Management has been awarded the contract for the provision of
estates and maintenance services to the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS
Trust Estate in south-west London. This comprises the Chelsea and Westminster
Hospital (a 550-bed acute hospital), St Stephens Centre (specialising in the
treatment of HIV and Aids) and the Mental Health Unit. The contract is worth
£1.8 million per annum for five years.

HOUSING:
Mansell, the specialist construction and construction services business acquired
by Balfour Beatty in December 2003, has been awarded a £22.7 million contract by
Shepherd's Bush Housing Association to regenerate the Townmead Estate in Fulham.

A new 158-unit estate will be developed with a new doctor's surgery, tenants'
hall, outdoor ball games court and landscaped seating and retail shells. Work is
due to be completed in spring 2007.

EDUCATION:
Mansell has also secured a £6.1 million design & build contract from University
College London to construct new premises for shared use by the University's
Department of Anthropology and its School of Slavonic and Eastern European
Studies (SSEES).

Work on the five-storey facility will begin in autumn 2004 and is due for
completion by the end of 2005. As part of the contract, the team will refurbish
the University's existing five-storey exam halls building.



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