LAW firm Dickinson Dees has helped close the region's largest private finance initiative (PFI) deal.

The £300m contract will see Equion design build and maintain two hospitals in Newcastle.

The Royal Victoria Infirmary and Freeman hospitals will be re-developed for Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, in an overhaul of the city's healthcare provision.

The project funding required a team of eight lawyers.

Tim Care, a partner in the firm, said: "This is the largest modern PFI deal that has been carried out in the region, and it is one of the largest health sector deals to be done to date in the UK."

Len Fenwick, chief executive of the hospitals trust, said: "We are delighted to have closed the deal and look forward to the construction phase. Dickinson Dees have been with us throughout the procurement and have served the trust well."