City Building is giving scores of Glasgow businesses the opportunity to achieve growth after appointing them as suppliers.
The construction firm awarded 136 Glasgow-based companies framework sub-contractor status to supply more than 70 construction and trades services.
The services they are eligible to deliver range from ground investigation and demolition to joinery, heating and plumbing services and installation of micro renewables.
Each of the successful suppliers were subject to a detailed evaluation process, with their bids individually assessed by a team of 20 experts across eight separate divisions within City Building. Factors that were considered during the evaluation process included environmental sustainability, employment of apprentices and delivery of community benefits.
The firms have been awarded framework status for three years with the option to extend their agreements by up to 12 months. More than four fifths (82.5%) of the successful businesses are SMEs (small-medium sized businesses), potentially delivering a major economic boost to the Glasgow’s SME community.
The framework is part of City Building’s commitment to contributing to the Glasgow economy.
According to recent research, City Building supports a turnover of nearly £325 million across companies in the city. It also supports a total of 3,877 jobs in Glasgow and estimates that 73.5% of its supplier spend is placed with companies based in the city.
Dr Graham Paterson, executive director of City Building, said: “We are extremely proud of the positive impact our supplier development activity has had on Glasgow SMEs, supported businesses and the third sector.
“Our new sub-contractor framework agreement will help us to continue to drive wealth and create employment opportunities across the city.”
The framework agreement has been welcomed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Scotland.
Martin Little, chair of FSB Scotland said: “Glasgow’s smaller businesses are extremely important and contribute significantly to the local economy, and public procurement can be a very effective way to help them grow and thrive.
“Our research shows that for every £1 spent with an SME, 63p was re-spent in the local area compared to 40p in every £1 spent with a larger business. This is why we have asked public sector agencies in Scotland to spend at least 10% of their procurement budget with local micro firms by 2020.
“While there is much more that could be done on public procurement and supply-chain development, this is good work from City Building. With the Glasgow City Deal’s £1.13bn investment in the pipeline, we want to see more local firms getting value from public spending.”
One of Scotland’s largest construction companies, City Building LLP was established in 2006 from the former building services department of Glasgow City Council to provide a range of repairs and maintenance, construction and refurbishment activities across the public, private and third sectors. It has delivered more than £50million in cash surplus over the past 10 years, all of which was returned to Glasgow City Council for investment in frontline services.
