THE new 600-capacity prison in Maghull will be run by a consortium that includes Merseyrail joint operator Serco.

The deal, along with another to run Belmarsh West prison in London, will be worth £600m to Serco over 26 years. The contracts are due to be signed early next year.

The Maghull prison will be built close to Ashworth Hospital and will be next door to 350-place HMP Kennet which opened in 2008.

Construction work by Skanska is expected to begin in the first half of next year and completed by the end of 2011.

Serco chief executive Christopher Hyman said: “We are committed to providing safe, secure and cost-effective regimes and offender accommodation that reduce reoffending and which support offenders in leading more fulfilling lives once they have been released.

“Governments around the world are facing increasing justice and homeland security challenges, and we are seeing significant opportunities to use our skills to support them.”

In the UK, Serco already manages four adult prisons, a Young Offenders Institution, and a Secure Training Centre for young people, as well as providing electronic monitoring and court escort services.

The group yesterday reported strong first-half trading, as a record level of contract wins lifted pre-tax profits 33% to £83.4m in the first half of 2009.

Revenues in the six months to June 30 rose 30.8% to £1.95bn, pre-tax profits jumped 32.8% to £83.4m and the interim dividend will grow by 25% to 1.85p per share.

It achieved record contract awards with £2.1bn of deals signed and preferred bidder status achieved on £1.4bn of contracts. The order book stands at £16.7bn.

Mr Hyman said: “This has been a strong first half.

“These opportunities, across all our markets, and our growing capabilities, underpin our confidence in the future.”

Serco, which employs more than 70,000 people, provides outsourcing for a range of clients, but mainly governments.

It also reported a good start to the second half of the year following an additional £500m of contracts as customers look to outsource work to help reduce costs.

Panmure Gordon stockbrokers said yesterday’s figures were better than expected and added that an order book worth almost £17bn provided “excellent” near-term visibility.

Shares in the FTSE 100 Index-listed company closed 6% at 482p after it said it expected to meet its guidance for 2009 results.