Partner Article

N.E. should not be disheartened by lack of Tier One Olympic bids

The North East received less tier one contracts for the 2012 Olympic games, but these figures are only “the tip of the iceberg”, according to Olympic bosses.

The region was awarded only 22 direct contracts from the Olympic Deliver Authority, in comparison with more than 700 in the London area. These contracts represent only a fraction of the work, which the region has secured, which is actually worth at least £80 million.

Almost 2500 businesses in the region have already registered on the Compete For website, and there are still a variety of public and private sector contracts available.

Head of Business Engagement at Compete North East Paul Taylor is urging local businesses not to be disheartened by the Tier One figures;

“Yes, we want to win as many contracts as we can and we are ambitious, but we also have to be realistic. The North East is a small region - we simply don’t have as many companies as larger parts of the country.

“There are still many contracts up for grabs that firms in the North East which the North East can still compete for, such as the project we will be working on with Newcastle City Council to identify suppliers when they accommodate the Olympic football match at St James’ Park.”

Many of the contracts that have already been awarded to North East companies relate to significant infrastructure on the Olympic park, but several contracts have also been awarded indirectly.

Paul added: “Its important to stress though that there’s still a year to go and companies have got to be in it to win it.”

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