GEORGE SOROS'S Mapeley consortium has clinched one of the Government's last large PFI contracts in a deal worth about �2 billion.
Mapeley beat Nomura's Principal Finance Group and the Goldman Sachs-backed Trillium for the contract to own and manage 1.5 million square metres of government property, covering 750 offices.
Mapeley will pay the Treasury �220 million upfront for the Inland Revenue assets. However, the contract is believed to be worth �2 billion to the company over 20 years.
Mapeley is thought to have pitched an extremely low bid in an attempt to secure its first property outsourcing contract.
Robin Priest, the consortium's chief executive, was runner-up on the Government's first property outsourcing contract in 1998, which saw the Government hand over ownership of 1.6 million square metres of DSS assets to Trillium.
Mr Priest said yesterday: "There was clearly enough blue water between us and the next bid not to have best and final offers. We had to be competitive, because there was tough competition."

THE TIMES 04/08/2000 P24