21 Mar 2006

Interserve, the services, maintenance and building group, has been named preferred bidder for a seven-year contract to provide facilities management services to the London Borough of Croydon.

The contract, which is expected to commence in July 2006, is valued at £60 million over the seven years and has the option of a further three year extension.  Interserve will provide many of the basic background services that are needed to keep the council running, ranging from building maintenance and catering to security and a helpdesk, covering over 600 properties from the Town Hall to libraries, youth clubs and sports grounds.

Interserve has also committed to helping Croydon expand the use of Fairtrade produce in council kitchens and to improving recycling levels across the Borough.

Adrian Ringrose, Interserve Chief Executive, commented: "We are delighted that Croydon has chosen Interserve to support the delivery of first-class services to the 330,000 people who live and work in Borough. 2006 has started well for Interserve, having already been announced as preferred bidder by the MoD to maintain its bases in Cyprus."

Councillor Ian Payne, cabinet member for economic development and corporate services added: "Interserve has demonstrated its ability to deliver the very highest levels of service across the Borough, while also helping us to achieve considerable cost savings over the seven years. We look forward to a very productive working relationship."