Aberdeen bypass firm Galliford Try bids to raise £157m

Aberdeen bypass partner Galliford Try is bidding to raise more than £150m to help cover costs for the project that had involved collapsed Carillion.

Galliford Try and Balfour Beatty are now covering the costs after former bypass partner Carillion went into liquidation in January.

The Aberdeen bypass was due to be finished by the spring but it may now not open until late autumn.

Galliford Try said it aimed to raise £157.6m through a rights issue.

The 28-mile bypass - one of Scotland's biggest infrastructure projects - has a price tag of £745m.

Legal delays

Galliford Try said in a statement: "The group continues to make good progress towards resolving AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route)."

Economy Secretary Keith Brown told MSPs earlier this month that the project's opening date could now be late autumn.

The bypass was given the green light by Scottish ministers in 2009, but was delayed by legal action.

Preparatory work on the Aberdeen bypass began in August 2014, and construction work began in February 2015.

Carillion went into liquidation after talks between the company, its creditors and the UK government failed.