Integral UK first past the post for maintenance at 14 jockey club racecourses

Jockey Club Racecourses has asked Integral UK to maintain offices, grandstands, client boxes, stables, restaurants and conference facilities at all 14 of its racecourses including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom and Newmarket.
This is a key decision for Jockey Club Racecourses which is just completing a five-year £95 million investment programme on its facilities.
The maintenance contract was awarded following a formal tender and follow-on preferred bidder negotiation process. It will come into force in phases due to the busy mix of Flat and National Hunt Racing in the club’s calendar throughout the year.
Integral UK, one of Britain’s largest and most successful independent national providers of comprehensive property maintenance and energy management services, will also be responsible for racecourse facilities at Haydock, Kempton and Sandown as well as seven smaller courses at Carlisle, Exeter, Huntingdon, Market Rasen, Nottingham, Warwick and Wincanton.
Together they account for more than 20% of fixtures and 30% of prize money in Britain
Integral national sales manager Gary Odgers said: “We will provide a mixture of site-based engineers and our mobile engineering team to carry out the work. Extended cover will be provided during race meetings throughout the year including public holidays, weekends and evenings.”
Integral UK, a Sunday Times Top Track 250 company, will look after the racecourses through its regional offices under the overall control of a national account manager while the Integral national call centre will provide a single point of contact for all emergency-related calls for the 14 courses. Jockey Club Racecourses will be able to track call progress at any time through a client web portal.             
Gary Odgers summarised: “This contract will lead to cost savings for Jockey Club Racecourses throughout the life of the contract. It will ensure standardisation of maintenance activities and statutory compliance for all the racecourses together with a single point of contact for all maintenance related activities. We will also simplify the process by dramatically reducing the number of suppliers utilised by the courses.”
Colin Fellows, Property Director at Jockey Club Racecourses, commented: “We look forward to a long and productive partnership with Integral, driving quality up and costs down. In all our activities we aim to maintain the highest possible standards and the best possible presentation for our customers.”
 

Ends     10th March 2010

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