‘Go online for share of Olympic gold’

1:38pm Wednesday 19th November 2008

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A LEADING London Olympic official has urged North-East businesses to register on an online database that will enable them to compete for more than 75,000 contracts in the run-up to the 2012 Games.

Richard Mould, the head of procurement for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), has warned that businesses are in danger of missing out on more than £9bn of opportunities if they fail to register their details as quickly as possible.

The start of the 2012 Games may be more than three-anda- half years away, but LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) have already awarded 801 contracts, worth more than £3.5bn.

Nine have gone to companies from the North-East or North Yorkshire, but with more supply contracts being awarded every week, Mr Mould has urged regional businesses to do all they can to guarantee they do not miss out.

“I know some people think the Olympics are so far in the future that they don’t need to worry about them now,” said Mr Mould. “But that could not be further from the truth.

“Contracts are being awarded now, and it would be a massive shame if businesses missed out on them through ignorance or inactivity.

“We estimate that there will be 75,000 opportunities throughout the supply pyramid, but our research also shows that 73 per cent of UK companies have not yet started to look into the business opportunities that 2012 will create.

“We have tried to make the contracting process as simple as possible, but it is up to individual businesses to take the necessary steps to ensure they are in a position where they can bid for work.”

To bid for a 2012 contract, a business must be registered on the Compete For database at london2012.com/business.

The registration process takes about half-an-hour, and once registered, a business can bid for any number of contracts before, during and after the Games. The opportunities being advertised on the website vary, from the provision of more than 2,000 buses and coaches during the month of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the creative marketing of the London 2012 mascots.

And while some of the major construction contracts are likely to be too big for a majority of the companies in the region, successful bidders will be contractually obliged to use suppliers and service providers who have registered on the Olympic website.

Therefore, a contract to build the new aquatics centre will lead to further sub-contracts for bricklayers, brick merchants, distributors and brick manufacturers, all of whom will have to have been registered with LOCOG and the ODA.

“The big contracts will tend to hog the headlines,” said Mr Mould.

“But we are also talking about a whole host of smaller contracts that will also be up for grabs.

“Contracts that should be coming up soon will range from about £20m of quantity surveying to maybe a few thousand pounds for supplying sandwiches.

“We want those contracts to be evenly spread throughout the country.”

Firms that have picked up the baton

Barclaycard Corporate (Stockton): Accounting, auditing and analysis.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Gosforth), Executive offices Entec (Newcastle): Management consulting services.

Faulkner Browns (Newcastle): Architects.

First Class Partnerships Ltd (York): Rail consultants.

McCourt Consultancy Associates Ltd (Thirsk): Management consulting services.

RIBA Enterprises Ltd (Newcastle): Education and training.

Smith Clarke Solicitors (Newcastle): Solicitors.

St Robert of Newminster Catholic School & Sixth Form College (Washington): Schools and Educational services.