Small Businesses get a piece of London 2012
Of the 650 companies that have already won over £2 billion worth of work supplying the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to date, over 70 per cent are small and medium (SMEs) sized businesses and 98 per cent are UK based.
The latest figures published by London 2012 also show that SMEs make up nearly 90 per cent of the 18,000 companies registered on CompeteFor - the unique 'dating agency' which matches London 2012 buyers with potential suppliers throughout the London 2012 supply chain.
CompeteFor is a free website that provides companies of all sizes access to thousands of opportunities supplying London 2012 contractors. By registering online businesses are able to apply for contracts that are part of the estimated 75,000 future business opportunities - around £6 billion of work expected to be allocated by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and London Organising Committee (LOCOG).
"I've talked to business across the UK and there is a real appetite for helping us deliver the London 2012 Games. These figures show that smaller businesses are making the running and getting the biggest benefit so far, as well as getting themselves in pole position to compete for future work in the supply chains of our major contractors" said ODA Chairman, John Armitt.
Mike Mulvey, Chief Executive of the London Business Network said: "London businesses represent the lion's share of CompeteFor registrations, with over 6,500 of the Capital's firms signed on to CompeteFor. The London Business Network is committed to ensuring that the Capital benefits from the enormous opportunity presented by the 2012 Games and we urge firms who have not yet registered on CompeteFor to do so now so that they don't miss out on these contracts".
Contracts are being awarded to SMEs every day through the CompeteFor website, many of which would not have had the opportunity otherwise. John Charles is the founder of Catering2order, recently awarded a catering contract by the ODA through the CompeteFor website. "As a small business with no dedicated marketing department, we would never have been able to put our business in front of buyers so easily or even known about this opportunity in the first place. CompeteFor is free, easy to use and saves us such a lot of time as all the information you need about potential leads is contained in the one place."
To register your business on CompeteFor or for more information on the above opportunities, visit www.competefor.com.
