Partner Article

Newcastle firm tees off Brazilian bid

A North East firm has put together a consortium which is in the running to build several new football stadiums in Brazil ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Newcastle-based A World of Golf (AWG) has brought together a group of heavyweight businesses from the sports consultancy and construction sectors to bid for a share of 11 contracts for new build stadiums across Brazil.

AWG, which is primarily involved in designing and managing the construction of golf courses and resorts around the world, is hopeful of winning up to five of the contracts.

A decision on the contracts will be made by Brazilian state authorities - in partnership with football’s governing body FIFA - by the end of this year.

If successful, AWG will work alongside global construction firms Davis Langdon and Waterman Group, sports turf specialist SIS and Top Green – a French firm which develops grass suitable for various sports.

Brazil will host the World Cup for the second time in the tournament’s history in 2014 and the country’s authorities are keen to upgrade the stadiums and surrounding infrastructure in the host cities.

AWG will draw on its expertise of managing the development of large-scale golf courses and related facilities such as hotels, access roads and entertainment venues.

Meanwhile, the Newcastle firm is confident that a multimillion-pound contract to build a golf course in Brazil – which has been on hold during the last two years of economic downturn – will finally begin moving towards completion in the next few months.

The company has been waiting since 2007 for the go-ahead to develop a course in the town of Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais.

As its partners on the project begin to recover from the global downturn, the development is likely to finally get underway.

AWG chairman Andrew Mair said the business was focused on the Brazilian market because of its impending emergence as a hotbed of global sports in the next decade.

He said: “With the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, Brazil is now the sporting country of this decade. There’s no doubt about it, sports are a huge part of the Brazilian economy.”

AWG has developed over 160 golf resorts around the world and currently has projects in the pipeline in Mexico, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Cyprus.

The company, based in Newcastle’s Generator Studios, is backed by former Ryder Cup captain Mark James.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .