Financial Close achieved on Cumbria health centres

3 May 2012

Sweett Group plc

("Sweett Group" or "the Group")

Financial Close achieved on community health centres to be delivered through the NHS Express LIFT programme

Sweett Group, the international property and infrastructure consultancy, is pleased to announce that Financial Close has been achieved for a new £12.5 million community hospital/health centre in Cockermouth and a new £6.5 million health centre in Cleator Moor.

The developments are funded by eLIFT Cumbria Limited and will be delivered through the NHS Express LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) programme. 

The new hospital in Cockermouth will be built on land next to the current Cottage Hospital on Isel Road. It will replace the existing hospital, which is more than 100 years old, and will provide new facilities for the town's GPs, who are currently working out of temporary accommodation on the hospital site, following the floods which devastated Cockermouth in November 2009.

The new Health Centre on Birks Road in Cleator Moor will incorporate a range of health services in a new state of the art facility designed to ensure that future healthcare needs are met.

Work on site for the new Cockermouth Hospital will start in earnest in early May with completion expected in autumn 2013. Work on the new health centre in Cleator Moor will start at the end of May and will be completed by late spring 2013.

eLIFT Cumbria Limited is a public-private partnership comprising Express LIFT Investments Limited (in which Sweett Group owns a 33.3% stake), NHS Cumbria, Community Health Partnerships and Cumbria County Council.

Ken Gill, Managing Director of Sweett Group's PPP/PFI investments business, said:

"This is a fantastic milestone, not only for eLIFT Cumbria and Sweett Group, but for the NHS Express LIFT programme as a whole. We are very proud to be working with local businesses and our partners to help to deliver healthcare services that meet the needs of the residents of West Cumbria."

- Ends -

For further information:

Sweett Group plc Dean Webster, Chief Executive Officer +44 20 7061 9000Theo Kjellberg, Group Communications Manager +44 20 7061 9102Ken Gill, Managing Director, Investments +44 11 7921 8734

FTI ConsultingBilly Clegg, Oliver Winters, Latika Shah +44 20 7831 3113

About Sweett Group

Sweett Group plc is a global business with expertise in property and infrastructure professional services. Our services include programme and project management, cost management, advisory and PPP/PFI investment.

We aim to forge long term, successful relationships with all stakeholders in the property and infrastructure industry. "Global knowhow, local delivery" is the essence of our business and our reach enables us to put global best practice to use in the local markets we serve.

www.sweettgroup.com

About eLIFT Cumbria

eLIFT Cumbria Limited is a public-private partnership that was formed on 19 November 2009 by NHS Cumbria, Express LIFT Investments Limited, Community Health Partnerships and Cumbria County Council.

eLIFT Cumbria Limited is the first NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust ("LIFT") company to be procured through the Department of Health's Express LIFT framework, with a remit to finance and redevelop Cumbria's ageing community hospitals and deliver a range of other health facilities.

Express LIFT Investments Limited ("ELIL") is a limited company which was created specifically to take part in the Express LIFT National Framework initiative. ELIL is a joint venture that brings together parties who have a first-class record of delivery in the NHS LIFT market place and other Public Private Partnership initiatives. ELIL was created by the following two organisations: Anagennao LLP and Cyril Sweett Investments Limited.