- 12% savings made on procurement costs.
- Significant savings on consultancy fees can be made.
Ten new members have joined the Client Professional Services Hub; the procurement framework set up by Places for People Group and led by Trowers & Hamlins LLP and Savills Commercial Ltd.
New members include Housing Associations and local councils from across England and Scotland, including London and Quadrant Housing Association, Glasgow Housing Association and Wirral Partnership Homes.
The Hub enables public sector bodies to procure together without going through the separate European tendering process. It has been designed specifically for use by social housing providers.
Following the Comprehensive Spending Review social housing providers are choosing to use innovative procurement solutions, like the Hub, to save management time and money. By grouping together to procure, members are able to make significant savings without compromising on the service they are buying.
The Client Professional Services Hub can be joined free of charge by registered providers and other contracting authorities. As members of the Hub, public sector bodies benefit from preferential rates on an extensive range of quality professional services from Trowers & Hamlins and Savills Commercial Ltd, as well as regular updates on key issues affecting their organisations and best practice know-how.
With the steady expansion of the Client Professional Services Hub, Places for People Group continue to strive for procurement best practice to assist clients in avoiding challenges from disgruntled providers and achieving value for money.
Katy Mills, Head of Group Purchasing at Places for People said: “We wanted a one stop shop that would improve efficiency and drive down costs on our own professional services requirements, which we have successfully achieved through tendering the Client Professional Services Hub.”
“We have undertaken 12 projects through the Hub this year and made a 12% saving on procurement costs. It seems short-sighted not to offer any benefit we achieve to our colleagues across the sector and thus the Hub is available and EU compliant for other clients to achieve high quality, low cost services from two exceptional professional services market leaders.”
Trowers & Hamlins LLP, together with Savills Commercial Property Ltd, were chosen because of their significant experience in the housing sector and the breadth of expertise they have across all aspects of the housing sector.
Bill Byfield, of Savills Commercial Limited, said: “We are delighted to be involved in this innovative approach to delivering professional services and look forward to providing our existing and new clients with an integrated range of services to suit their needs.”
