A CONSORTIUM backed by AIB is to participate in a £1bn (€1.1bn) investment programme designed to stimulate healthcare construction in Britain despite small businesses here complaining about a lack of credit from the bank.

The Fulcrum Infrastructure Group has been selected as one of seven public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the British government's Express Lift programme, which will see the construction of new clinics and doctors' surgeries throughout the country.

The move is one of a series of major funding commitments made by AIB and Bank of Ireland in Britain in the wake of the government's recapitalisation announcement.

Fulcrum stayed in the tendering process despite the fact that two of its shareholders, AIB and Alliance & Leicester, are victims of the credit crunch.

The third partner in Fulcrum is investment fund Meridian Infrastructure.

Under its two-year deal with the British government, the seven partners will form joint ventures with local primary care trusts which will build facilities and lease them back to the state under long-term deals.

The British government has indicated its determination that the partners commit to projects as soon as possible, indicating that the creation of joint ventures for even major projects should take a maximum of just four months.

But an AIB spokesman told the Sunday Tribune that Fulcrum had made no decision about whether to participate in any of the joint ventures.

He added that it was also unclear how much of the finance for Fulcrum's projects would come from AIB.

"It should be noted that Fulcrum's investment activities are primarily debt-financed. All debt facilities are put out to tender in the UK bank market," he said.

The spokesman said the bank remained fully committed to lending to small Irish businesses and had embarked on a comprehensive SME funding package, which involved €1.3bn in lending to the sector.