The total facilities management contract, which Interserve has operated for the London Borough of Croydon since 2006, has been extended until 2016 and is worth circa £10 million a year.

The three-year extension reflects the strong working partnership that has been developed between Interserve, the international support services and construction group, and the London Borough of Croydon. Since 2006 the council has realised £6 million worth of savings through their partnership with Interserve.

With the pressures on local government to reduce spending after the Comprehensive Spending Review, Interserve has developed a strategic proposal that will deliver further cost savings through an innovative management approach, new service delivery models and changes to service outputs for low-risk service lines.

The London Borough of Croydon is the largest in London with around 350,000 residents and 350 properties including a listed town hall, office complexes, libraries, restaurants, sheltered housing, care homes, schools, youth and day centres, community centres, crematoria and cemeteries.

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Interserve delivers core services including building maintenance, security, cleaning, mailroom, reprographics, energy and utilities management, room bookings, porterage and minor and major projects. The contract also includes strategic services such as health and safety, asset and lifecycle management and sustainable development.

When the contract was awarded in 2006, it was one of the first of a new breed of integrated total facilities management partnerships, designed to use the facilities' portfolio as an enabler for change and improvement.

Keith Dorling, Managing Director – Civil Government at Interserve commented: "The contract extension reflects the strong working partnership which has been developed between Interserve and the London Borough of Croydon over the past five years.

"Recent research, undertaken in partnership with YouGovStone, revealed that many councils are still getting to grips with the scale of the efficiency savings they need to make. This fiscal challenge is likely to mean radical changes in the way services are delivered.

"However the forward-thinking strategic proposal, which Interserve has jointly developed with Croydon, will help support the council in meeting this challenge. It will deliver real efficiencies in the management of the estate, further demonstrating our ongoing joint commitment to adding value to the local community."

(CD)