An Economic Impact study has suggested that the East of England might benefit to the tune of £600 million as a result of London hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and that Essex might reap as much as £139 million in reward.
Epping Forest District Council recognises that the district is uniquely positioned to seize opportunities presented by the London 2012 Games. In Epping Forest to date for example, Woodredon Equestrian Centre in Upshire has been announced as one of just 60 equestrian venues UK-wide to be promoted as pre-games training camps for overseas teams. A Waltham Abbey-based company Martin Dannell & Co Ltd which specialises in wide format printing has been long-listed to provide huge printed hoardings to wrap around development sites in the run-up to 2012.
In late 2007 Epping Forest District Council, in partnership with Business Link East, hosted a successful breakfast event to help ensure that local businesses are best positioned to win contracts. Terry Burgess from Business Link explained how contracts for London 2012 are being let and how businesses can become involved. He also heeded a word of warning to those who feel that their business has nothing to do with the Games. Stating that its reach extends beyond the large and obvious contract work such as construction, engineering, hotels, transport and the spin-off for tourism and leisure. Burgess gave the example that one of the most recently let contracts was for the production of lapel badges.
CompeteFor is a new web-based service which acts as a brokerage service to match buyers with suppliers for London 2012 contracts. Suppliers must register their contact details and are requested to complete a business profile in order to gain access to the site. Following approval, businesses will not only be able to search CompeteFor for relevant opportunities, but buyers will also the system to generate long and short-lists to fulfill their contract opportunities. The service generates email notifications to keep suppliers and buyers informed. CompeteFor can be accessed via www.london2012.com/business.
If you would like to receive information on subsequent Olympic events in the area as well as other business news and networking opportunities please email your details to vwillis@eppingforest.gov.uk
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