Future of corporate PFI arm Odyssey in doubt after it fails to win a single contract in 14 months.
Jarvis is considering dumping its "corporate PFI" joint venture with investment Bank UBS Warburg because it has failed to win any contracts since it was set up 14 months ago.

The venture, called Odyssey Property Services, has been trying to win private outsourcing work but has so far failed to do so. Paris Moayedi, Jarvis' chief executive, admitted this week that the group had become "disenchanted with the market's reaction to that business model".

He said: "We're beginning to think that it's not a market we want to be in and we're reviewing our options. If there's no market, what's the point?

"There is no appetite for big companies to sell their property holdings and then lease them back from the people that bought them."

Odyssey's unsuccessful bids include the £500m BBC outsourcing deal, a similar contract for Electricité de France and an abortive £1bn outsourcing agreement with computer services group ICL.

Odyssey has been under a cloud since Barry Lucas, its chief executive, left in March this year. He was replaced by Tim Langdon, the business development director of Jarvis Accommodation Services.

Lucas told Building that the venture was struggling to get off the ground and said he was frustrated with the difficulties of closing PFI-style deals.

Moayedi made his comments on Tuesday as he announced Jarvis' results for the year to 31 March. Pre-tax profit fell slightly from £31m last year to £30.1m as a result of losing £900,000 on three businesses that Jarvis sold. Turnover increased 17% to £676.8m.

Jarvis is part of the Tubelines consortium, named as preferred bidder by London Underground to run the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. Moayedi said negotiations with LU were progressing slowly.

He said: "There are some serious obstacles to overcome in respect of the view of the future of LU and PPP. I am sure good sense will prevail. The banks will support sensible propositions as long as we don't take away the sense of PPP."