Fit-out firm lands £1m school contract

Mansfield-based Deanestor, the furniture and fit-out firm, has been awarded a major contract by Morrison Construction, worth over £1m, to manufacture and install the fixed furniture for Barony Campus – the largest new school project in Scotland.

Designed by Sheppard Robson, the £68m scheme is the largest capital project ever undertaken by East Ayrshire Council. It will consolidate five disparate schools into one inclusive campus, creating an intergenerational centre for education for 2,500 students and 300 staff.

Deanestor is fitting out 324 rooms across the 22,000 sq m campus

Deanestor’s contract includes the manufacture and installation of bespoke fitted furniture. There will be 117 learning walls, 1,800 base and wall storage cabinets, 1,200m of shelving, 1,500m of linear worktops, 100 lockers, benching for the sports centre, adjustable-height tables across the campus to meet DDA requirements, and kitchens for three food technology laboratories, as well as staff kitchenettes and a kitchen for the life skills room.

John Allan, project director at Morrison Construction, said: “Deanestor’s tender was competitive on price and they were able to achieve our programme. They have a good reputation both in the education sector and in Scotland and are a valued member of the Morrison supply chain. Our requirement is for fitted furniture that is robust and built-to-last for this high-quality flagship school campus.”

Ramsay McDonald, managing director of Deanestor Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be working on our sixth project for Morrison Construction in the past three years. This latest contract follows a detailed assessment which looked at our financial stability and our skills, track record and technical expertise to deliver a project of this complexity and scale. This is a challenging fit-out project that required intensive design resources to achieve a cost plan that matched the design intent. We are looking forward to contributing to an exemplar teaching and learning environment that will enable every child to reach their full potential.”

Ryan McMonagle, project architect at Sheppard Robson said: “The Deanestor team performed really well at the initial design stages with good engagement, a positive and collaborative approach, and a thorough knowledge of the technical requirements for education furniture which has added value to the project.”