London Development Agency
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LDA contracts worth £170 million a year to be won through CompeteFor “business dating agency”
CompeteFor - a groundbreaking online service developed by the London Development Agency (LDA) to tender contracts linked to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - was rolled out across the LDA yesterday.
The 'business dating agency' allows companies to register as potential suppliers and they will in turn be notified of contracts that match their field of work as they go out to tender.
Originally designed to open up the London 2012 supply chain by giving small and medium sized businesses a greater chance benefit from the Games, CompeteFor will now be used to tender LDA contracts worth an estimated £170 million each year.
Currently 84% of businesses registered with CompeteFor are small or medium sized firms, figures from the LDA show. The award winning online resource has already attracted 30,258 companies of which almost 10,000 are from the Greater London area.
LDA Chief Executive, Peter Rogers said:
"CompeteFor has been a resounding success – enabling small and medium sized businesses gain access to a wide range of contracts by opening up the Olympic supply chain. It was always our vision to roll out the scheme across the whole of the LDA to give smaller firms in London the chance to compete for more contracts and get more business. This service will continue to evolve and we may find CompeteFor will eventually become a key tendering tool for both the public and private sectors."
The CompeteFor service also provides access to a wide range of business support services provided by Business Link in London. In addition, any business or organisation that wants to issue contracts can use CompeteFor and enjoy the increased competition and increased access that the system provides. For media enquiries, please contact Luke Robinson at the LDA Media Team on 020 7593 8069; for public enquiries, please call 020 7593 8069; for out of hours media enquiries, please call 07977 439 371. Notes for editors 1. The London Development Agency aims to improve the quality of life for all Londoners - working to create jobs, develop skills and promote economic growth. 2. All LDA contracts will be issued through CompeteFor from 1 September 2008, with the exception of opportunities tendered through an existing panel of suppliers set up according to public procurement rules. The £170 million estimate of LDA contracts available to tender is based on 2007/2008 direct spend on goods, works and services only. 3. Further details about CompeteFor, including advice on how to register can be found at https://www.competefor.com/ or http://www.lda.gov.uk/
4. CompeteFor was initially created to help smaller businesses to win contracts for the 2012 Games in London. It acts as a brokerage service that matches businesses of all sizes to thousands of opportunities to supply London 2012 contractors. An estimated 75,000 future business opportunities - around £6 billion of work - is expected to be allocated by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and London Organising Committee (LOCOG).
5. CompeteFor has been developed on behalf of the English Regional Development Agencies and UK Devolved Administrations by the London Development Agency, working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
6. The London Development Agency (LDA) won the Government Opportunity Magazine Collaborative Procurement Award for developing the 'CompeteFor' service.
For further information please contact:
Luke Robinson, Press Officer
Tel: 020 7593 8069 Mob: 07976 065587 lukerobinson@lda.gov.uk
LDA out of hours: 07977 439371 Public enquiries: 020 7593 9000
