Scottish businesses limber up for Games gold

Hundreds of Scottish businesses will flock to Glasgow tomorrow, (2 December 2009), to get ready to compete for a slice of London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 action.

The event, hosted by Scottish Enterprise in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, aims to maximise Scottish businesses chances in bidding for and securing Games related work.

With construction of physical facilities to host the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games well underway, the event involves a series of workshops and presentations which will help businesses prepare to procure contracts for goods and services associated with the Games.

Forty-three companies across Scotland have already won Games related contracts worth millions of pounds in total and Scottish Enterprise hope to help as many Scottish businesses as possible compete for the up and coming opportunities.

Some of the Scottish businesses already successful in securing work associated with London 2012 include the Miller Partnership, BiP Solutions, Bodycote Testing, Euro Pools, Turner Access, Wallace Brown, KN Environmental Services, Impact Test Equipment, Weldex, Nord Architects and Barr Ltd.

The latest London 2012 business win for Scotland is the Dalkeith based Letts Filofax Group. They are the first of a number of companies to be announced as a winner of the stationery licensing tender run by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) through the Competefor service.

Speakers will cover a wide range of topics including business opportunities in the run up to and during the Games; progress on the Commonwealth Games; what it takes to be effective in procuring public contracts and why global games events are so important in the context of the current economic environment.

In addition, a series of ten workshops will be hosted in the afternoon covering topics such as public sector contracts; getting business ready; bidding for Glasgow 2014 contracts and London 2012 opportunities.

Scottish Enterprise has hosted two previous ‘Get Ready to Compete’ events which have both reached sell out status and is delivering a series of six roadshows across Scotland to support Scottish businesses in their efforts to secure Games related and public sector business.

Jillian Moffat, project manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: “The high level of interest in these events demonstrates that the appetite for winning Games related contracts in Scotland is most definitely there.  We hope not only to inform companies of the scale of business opportunities out there as a result of the Games but to help prepare them to ensure they are ready to compete and win on a national and international stage.”

In total, The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and LOCOG expect to allocate over £6 billion of work to prepare for the London 2012 Games.  LOCOG has announced in the last month that it has £700m worth of contracts to procure for Games-time goods and services in the following sectors - Facilities management and catering; Production services for ceremonies; Security Services; Sports; Technology; Transport and logistics and Venues and venue logistics.

Paul Deighton, CEO of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “Today we welcome Dalkeith based Letts Filofax Group to the London 2012 Licensing and Merchandising programme. They will design, manufacture and sell London 2012 branded diaries and personal organisers that will go on sale to public from 2011 onwards.

“Both the Letts and Filofax brands enjoy worldwide recognition and the quality of the London 2012 goods to be produced by them will make a fantastic contribution to our range of merchandise.”

Gordon Presly, Executive Chairman for the Letts Filofax Group, commented: “On behalf of the company I would like to state that we are absolutely thrilled and delighted to have won the bid for this licensing tender to supply diaries, personal organisers and related stationery items for the London 2012 Games.”