YORK builder Shepherd Construction has teamed up with a bank in a partnership set to win a major multi-million pound deal.

Axiom Education, a consortium sponsored by the builder and Dutch bank ABN AMRO, has been announced as the preferred bidder for Rochdale Grouped Schools Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project - beating off two other competitors.

The £57 million deal will be one of the largest ever for Shepherd Construction Ltd, part of the Shepherd Building Group which boasts an annual turnover of more than £600 million.

Building work to the four primary and special schools at Hollin, Hamer, Marland Hill and Oulder Hill is due to start at the end of this year.

The work will involve building two new campuses for primary and special needs education, a new senior school, and converting an existing building.

The project has been months in the planning by Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council.

The consortium will also manage the schools when building work is completed in September 2007.

Vaughan Burnand, chief executive of Shepherd Construction, said: "We are delighted to have reached this stage of the project and look forward to forming a great partnership with Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and delivering first- class educational facilities."

Marketing manager Gail Gillatt said: "It's a very large project. Rochdale is a new area for us.

"It shows the continued growth of Shepherd across the country."

The deal follows hot on the heels of another huge PFI deal brokered by the builder and ABN AMRO to create a £65 million oncology and haematology hospital in Cottingham, near Hull.

The builder and bank formed a consortium called Healthcare Solutions and will design, construct and operate the new facility.

The oncology and haematology department will provide treatment and palliative care for patients with cancer and blood disorders, and will be a centre of excellence for the treatment and care of patients using the latest technology and equipment.

Updated: 12:20 Thursday, May 26, 2005