FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tens of Millions of Pounds Are To Be Spent On New Fire Safety Equipment Under The Build Schools For The Future Program

March 9 , 2007

Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Gordon Brown has announced a massive £36 billion investment in new and renovated schools over the next 4 years to create the “most educated nation in the world”. This investment includes the renovation or new building of 12,000 schools, including 50% of primary schools, 90% of secondary schools and 100 colleges. These developments will be done in three waves across the country over the next 4 years.

This means massive opportunities for fire safety product and service companies on several different levels. If the project is a renovation, then fire safety auditors will be brought in to assess the building from top to bottom. Additionally, there is increasing politic and local pressure to fit the new or renovated schools with sprinkler and alarm systems. Finally, contracts will be awarded for annual testing, maintenance, and upgrading of the installed systems.

It is estimated that the thousands of fires in schools each year cause £60 million in damage. Research from the insurance company, Zurich Mutual, has shown that 75% of fires in schools are started deliberately. More and more of these fires are started during the day, usually at lunch time, putting student and staff at risk. However, to date, only a tiny minority of schools are actually fitted with fire sprinkler systems.

The call for the installation of fire sprinkler systems during school renovations and new builds are based on several factors. First, almost all American and Australian schools have systems installed for the purpose of saving lives. Second, there are some estimates that the cost of installation is financially justified with the insurance and building cost savings in just the first year.

This is where Buyers Guide and its website, www.buyersguide.co.uk, can help the government buyers find qualified suppliers. Buyers Guide has been helping private companies get access to government contracts since 1996. With over 5,000 company listings on www.buyersguide.co.uk of specific products and services targeting public sector work, Buyers Guide is an easy solution for helping government buyers find qualified suppliers.

Companies listed on Buyers Guide range from multinationals to sole traders, but all have the goal of working on public sector contracts. These include working with schools, colleges, universities, local councils, ministry of defence, NHS, housing authorities, and government funded non-profit agencies.

The advantage that buyers guide offers is that the company “profile” on the www.buyersguide.co.uk website is written to specifically answer the pre-qualification questions from public sector buyers. This usually includes information like; previous work with other government bodies, years in business, industry qualifications or certifications like ISO 9002, testimonials from clients, government awards like investors in people, confirmation of equal opportunity employer status and specific contact details.

The Buyers Guide “profile” system allows government procurement specialists to quickly find companies that have government experience, the pre-qualification standards and a willingness to work with the public sector in one place saving the government time, effort and ultimately money.

Contact:

Buyers Guide
0191 260 5388
0191 221 2287
www.buyersguide.co.uk

Company History

Buyers Guide, based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, was established in 1996 and is the leading online directory of UK companies that are targeting the £600 billion in public spending each year. To date, there are over 5,000 company listings in 1,200 categories on the www.buyersguide.co.uk website.