BASINGSTOKE-HEADQUARTERED building services engineers are celebrating an £8.5million contract win.

IEI, which is based in the Southern Cross building in Basing View, has clinched its biggest contract for the last 12 years and the second largest in its 31-year history.

Managing director Roy Manning said: "We have been awarded this contract as a result of the teamwork between the Kier Group companies, bringing together construction, mechanical and electrical services - a recipe for success."

The new order, which is already in the first stages, is for designing and installing the mechanical and electrical services to seven new schools for the London borough of Waltham Forest.

Academy Services, a partnership between Kier Project Investment and Dexia Public Finance Bank, is the Private Finance Initiative provider for the project, which has a total value of £150,000 and includes maintaining the schools over a period of 30 years.

IEI, whose parent company is the Kier Group, has already completed schemes at educational facilities at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design and Weymouth College. It is currently working on the Post Graduate Medical School at Surrey University.

The firm moved from its previous base of Grey Town House, Basingstoke, a year ago.

Of its 245 staff, nearly 100 work out of Southern Cross.

Gordon Geach, the man who designed the Southern Cross project 24 years ago, still works for IEI as the estimating manager.

As the firm gears up to delivering the new schools contract, Mr Manning said: "This once again demonstrates the tremendous engineering diversity that IEI is able to offer."