The Newcastle procurement services firm 'blooming' with new expansion plans

Having more than doubled its head count from 30 employees to over 65 in the past year, Newcastle’s Bloom Procurement Services has planned further expansion.

Staff numbers set to grow again in the coming months.

Formed in 2012, Bloom is the exclusive operator of the NEPRO professional services framework on behalf of NEPO - the North East Procurement Organisation.

The framework was set up to help the public sector buy and manage professional services spend whilst achieving better outcomes and improving value.

David Shields, CEO of Bloom Procurement Services, said: “The growth we are seeing is testament to the success of the NEPRO framework and the dedication of the Bloom team.

“The unique way of procuring services enables both buyers and suppliers to be part of an ever-growing community, benefiting from collaborative ways of working.”

Specialising in bringing together buyers and suppliers, Bloom has over 6,000 suppliers registered allowing them access to opportunities across 300 public sector organisations.

Already, the company has completed 3,000 projects from small to multi-million-pound opportunities across the public sector including local authorities, hospitals, emergency services and education bodies.

In 2017, the company’s turnover was £42m, turnover grew to £92m in 2018, and is set to top £165m in 2019. Bloom has set a target of £250m for 2020.

David added: “We want to make the competition process far less complicated for suppliers. We want to see them win work that builds their businesses both inside and outside of the region and we are helping to simplify the procurement process through our innovative technology platform.

“Our focus for the year ahead is to keep building our public sector and supplier community, to attract a high calibre workforce and to deliver further social value into procurement projects.”