Focus Consultants awarded position on key national framework

Heather Frecklington at Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has been appointed on a major national framework to supply consultancy services in leisure, culture and tourism, as well as asset management and delivery.

The position on the ESPO 664-17 framework will run until April 2019 with an option to extend for a further two years until April 2021.

It means that public-sector clients, registered charities and social housing providers in the UK can procure services from Focus in the knowledge that the procurement process has already been carried out in a professional manner, avoiding the need for a full tender process when searching for suppliers - saving them time and money.

The ESPO 664-17 framework is the eighth framework that Focus is currently appointed on.

“As well as working in the private sector, the teams at Focus Consultants work extensively across the public sector – providing specialist services to councils, charities and other organisations,” said Focus partner Heather Frecklington.

“Our services are unique – ranging from funding support, feasibility studies, commercial reviews and economic development through to evaluations, maintenance, management and delivery, and rationalisation and remodelling – and we have worked with a huge range of clients from internationally known museums and high-profile UK arts organisations through to local councils and small heritage projects.

“The appointment on the ESPO framework means that it is easier for clients to procure our services in the field of leisure, culture and tourism, as well as in asset management and delivery, and allows Focus, as a company, to potentially reach out to a wider client base.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to this framework – the eighth that we are now on – as it recognises and confirms our skills and professional services in these areas, and is an endorsement of our expertise.”

Focus Consultants is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has offices in London, Leicester and Boston in Lincolnshire.

It specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful companies of its kind.

The firm has worked with many well-known organisations including the V&A Museum, the Science Museum and the National Army Museum. It is currently project managing the £44million Devonshire Quarter redevelopment scheme in Eastbourne.

In the East Midlands, the company has played a role in a number of high-profile projects such as the Sky Mirror in Nottingham and the Curve in Leicester, and is involved currently in the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham and was a member of the team redeveloping the newly re-opened Bridgford Hall near Nottingham- the first completed project in the East Midlands to benefit from a Heritage Enterprise Grant.

ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation), based in Leicestershire, is a public sector owned organisation committed to helping customers achieve the best results by practice in procurement, sourcing, supply chain partner support and management and contract management. The 664-17 framework is fully compliant with UK/OJEU procurement legislation, where all providers listed are assessed prior to being accepted onto the framework.

For more information, please visit www.focus-consultants.com

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants finds Richard lll effect brought almost £60 million to Leicester

An independent assessment carried out by Nottingham-based Focus Consultants found that the discovery of King Richard lll brought in more than £59 million to Leicester’s economy, from the time of the discovery to the reinterment. 

The company, based at Phoenix Business Park, discovered that the event proved to be the catalyst for increasing visitor numbers, the launching of new businesses, job creation and higher hotel occupancy. 

Associate at Focus, Heather Frecklington, said: “This was a unique event in history. As experts in economic impact appraisals, Focus Consultants was very pleased to be commissioned to be a part of the team that looked at the effect the discovery of the remains of King Richard lll had on the city of Leicester. 

“The effects were felt widely on the economy in many ways, including creating jobs and bringing in income.” 

Leicester City Council appointed Focus Consultants to carry out an economic impact assessment of the discovery on the tourism and visitor economy. Focus looked at the period from September 2012 to March 20th 2015, leaving out the time of the reinterment which they say would have an unprecedented impact on the city, unlikely to ever be repeated. 

Focus analysed a range of indicators including the number of retail businesses established in the city compared to the region; the growth of accommodation and food services; visits to other local attractions including city museums and heritage sites; and hotel occupancy. This was in addition to looking at the King Richard lll attractions in the city. 

They calculated that the additional visitors attracted to Leicester as a result of King Richard lll was more than 600,000. They found this had resulted in an increased visitor spend of more than £54.5 million. 

Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “The discovery of King Richard lll and his subsequent reinterment has had a greater impact on the city than we could ever have anticipated. 

“There is no doubt that we are welcoming more visitors to the city than ever before, and judging by the increased number of visits to our museums and heritage sites they are finding out about the rest of our rich history and not just Richard lll.” 

Focus found that around 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs could have been created in the city as a result of the discovery. This is based on a formula developed by Deloitte and Oxford Economics, which states that for every £54,000 spent in the local economy, one new job is created. 

They also looked at the value of volunteering to the economy, establishing that more than 8,000 hours worth of volunteering were given, equating to a value of approximately £144,000. 

Further calculations using similar data were carried out by the city council to estimate the impact of the reinterment activities. Officers calculated that this period of activity had generated an additional £4.5 million for the city’s economy. 

Additional figures provided by the University of Leicester estimate that the value of media coverage obtained was £12 million (equivalent advertising value), with 366 million people around the globe given the opportunity to see coverage of the discovery and reinterment. 

Focus Consultants, which also has offices in Leicester, Holborn in London, and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, offers a range of funding and economic development services including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk