A consortium headed by Pricewaterhouse Coopers has won an 88m Aus$ (£34.2m)
contract to manage the Australian Government's 2.5bln Aus$ (£971m) non-defence property portfolio,
Minister for Finance and Administration John Fahey announced yesterday.

The contract, to run for five years, will cover 400 properties in 50 countries and is expected to deliver savings of around 74m Aus$ (£28.7m).

The government will retain ownership of and responsibility and accountability for the assets within the portfolio, with the consortium responsible for maintenance, day-to-day management and facilities management.

Other consortium partners include Knight Frank (Australia), Multiplex Constructions and Colonial First State Investments.