One of the longest-running private finance initiative negotiations has been thrown into confusion following merger talks between the two shortlisted bidders.

Workplace 2010 is a large-scale project that aims to sell about 65 government buildings in Northern Ireland to a property company. The deal is worth more than £200m, and was first announced in 2005 as part of a project to modernise Northern Ireland's civil service. However, after a process of almost four years, dogged by legal dispute and local opposition, the final shortlisted bidders, Land Securities Trillium and Telereal, have been put on hold after it transpired earlier this year that they could merge.