Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
5 June 2000


£32 MILLION BUILDING CONTRACT FOR BALFOUR BEATTY
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Balfour Beatty Construction Limited, the UK building and civil engineering arm
of the international engineering, construction and services group, announces
today that it has secured a £32 million design and build contract from Coal
Pension Properties Limited to redevelop 30-34 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh.
The focal point of the new development will be the construction of Harvey
Nichols' first department store in Scotland.

The scheme, which will take two years to complete, includes the construction
of a 9,600 metre sq department store on five levels, complete with all
services and finishes, and a completely new bus station complex to serve the
city centre. On completion, the bus station will be let to The City of
Edinburgh Council. It will also incorporate an enclosed 'airport' style
passenger concourse. Also included in the contract is the construction of 24
retail units with office accommodation at the upper levels with the formation
of a new open air shopping avenue together with associated services yard and
access tunnel.

The project is scheduled for completion in Autumn 2002.

Balfour Beatty's UK building business is an industry leader in complex
building projects.  It is pioneering new techniques in supply chain management
and process and site efficiency, and conducts a significant proportion of its
work in partnership with its customers.  Over two-thirds of its business comes
from existing customer relationships.

Amongst its current major projects are the £69 million Woolgate Exchange in
London for MEPC, the £210 million New Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Medical
School and the £65 million North Durham District General Hospital.  Other
major clients include Standard Life, BAE Systems, Land Securities, Scottish
Amicable and B&Q.


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