Mace team claims Euston station, while Balfour Beatty joint venture lands Old Oak Common deal

The prized deals to build London’s new HS2 stations at Euston and Old Oak Common have gone to teams led by Mace and Balfour Beatty.

The jobs have a combined pricetag of close to £3bn with the largest deal being the £1.5bn scheme at Euston.

This morning HS2 said the Mace team, which includes Spanish firm Dragados, had pipped a Costain/Skanska joint venture, and a team made up of Bam Nuttall and another Spanish firm Ferrovial to the work.

The news is a big blow for Costain/Skanska which had been considered the long-time favourite but, as Building revealed last week, was being overhauled by Mace at the death.

Designed by Grimshaw Architects, the station at Euston will have 11 platforms with other work including expanding the existing underground station and linking the entire complex to the nearby Euston Square tube station.

Along with demolition contractor McGee, the Costain/Skanska team started work last month tearing down buildings to make way for the new station.

Last autumn, the pair, along with demolition contractor Keltbray, completed work demolishing train sheds at Euston.

Commenting on the appointment Mace’s chief operating officer Jason Millett: “Mace’s experience across the whole property life-cycle and other major infrastructure projects alongside Dragados’s world-class high speed rail expertise will fully be brought to bear on this complex project of national importance.”

When the shortlists for the two London HS2 stations were originally announced a joint venture made up of Canary Wharf Contractors, MTR Corp and Laing O’Rourke, as well as a solo bid from American construction giant Bechtel, were also on the shortlist to build Euston station.

Both teams subsequently withdrew from the race, with Bechtel focusing on its bid for Old Oak Common station.

Balfour Beatty, who has teamed up with Vinci and transport planning consultancy Systra, beat the Mace and Dragados partnership to the deal, which is worth just over £1bn, to build Old Oak Common station (pictured below).

Bam Nuttall and Ferrovial, this time partnered with Fluor, missed out again, while the bid from Bechtel was also overlooked.

HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said: “Mace/Dragados and Balfour Beatty/Vinci have a strong track record of delivering some of the world’s most challenging and exciting infrastructure projects and I look forward to welcoming them to the London teams.”

The appointment of contractors to build HS2’s two London stations, which will be built under construction management contracts, was expected to be made by the end of 2018.

But earlier this year HS2 confirmed it had delayed the announcement, promising to announce its chosen contractors by the end of March.

The construction partner appointments come a day after HS2 revealed the designs for Old Oak Common, which were drawn up by a team lead by WSP and architect Wilkinson Eyre.

The Costain/Skanska team is also onsite carrying out enabling works at both Old Oak Common. Kent firm Erith is also working on the Old Oak site.