News
8th November 2023, London: One of the longest established providers of traffic management and car parking services at special events and static sites, The Combined Services Provider (CSP), has been acquired by Norland Equity Partners Acquisition Limited (NEP) in an ambitious UK and international growth plan.
Having worked the previous two European Ryder Cups held in 2014 (Scotland) and 2018 (France), we always had the 2023 Rome event in our sites. Graham Arnott, our Head of Event Services, led on the project with Ryder Cup Italy very early on, working with our colleagues from PGA Europe. We were appointed by Ryder Cup Italy and The Italian Golf Federation to provide consultancy services and oversee Traffic Management, Car Parking, Pedestrian Services and Park and Ride sites for the event.
Prior to the pandemic, we had identified the need to secure an 'anchor' tenant in the north and Liverpool FC was a potential target. Whilst we operate in the north on special and golf events, we felt the time was right to consider a northern hub. The opportunity arose this year when Liverpool FC tendered out their car parking/traffic management operation. We are selective in which tenders we enter as they need to be accepted in our Capacity Capability Expertise Risk model, and we also need to feel comfortable that the process is not just benchmarking to use against the incumbent operator. Venues may change operator due to dissatisfaction with existing operator, price or just requiring a fresh approach, so the time and investment spent on any tender has to be in the belief that the venue has an appetite for change. We do not speculate on the reason, but in this case, were satisfied that there was a desire for the client to review alternative options.
A key part of our strategy is developing our in-house training so as not to be reliant on external providers. We trialed on-line training modules last year and moved to a full suite this year with an expanding library. We also recruited a dedicated Training and Development Manager at the start of the year, Kacey Watson, to lead on the development of our training schedules.
We first achieved Investors in People (IIP) almost 20 years ago when it was a relatively new accreditation. It was important at that stage to secure external validation of our company culture, process and procedures to enable development in the work place.
Beyonce opened the stadium concert season this year with a stunning 5 nights at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the London leg of the Renaissance World Tour. Those lucky enough to get a ticket (around 200,000 across the 5 nights) were truly entertained with a fantastic stage set, costume changes and, of course, the music. Truly spectacular.