csproj file containing "&" in a PreBuildEvent step fails to parse

[joes]

In a csproj file I have a line like this:

PreBuildEvent = 'cd $(ProjectDir) & "$(DevEnvDir)\..\..\Vc7\Bin\nmake"'


When I try to build the solution containing this csproj file under Visual Build Pro I get this error:

Error loading info for project file 'C:\Foo.csproj': An error occurred while parsing EntityName. Line 19, position 52.

The character at position 52 is the "&".

Is there a way to change the PreBuildEvent command so both Visual Studio and Visual Build accept it?