FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tens of Millions of Pounds Are To Be Spent On New Kitchen Equipment and Furniture Under The Build Schools For The Future Program

March 13, 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 kitchen and catering equipment companies on several different levels. First, if the project is a renovation, then catering consultants will be brought in to assess the building from top to bottom for new kitchen facilities. If it is a new build, the students, staff, parents, architects and local funding authorities will be consulted, before a design is agreed. Additionally, even if the school is in the minority and is not updated, the national press has highlighted that many schools have outdated kitchens or no kitchens at all. This means that there is a demand for new kitchen equipment for the minority of schools not involved in The Build Schools For The Future program.

Currently a large number of schools in the UK have outdated or no kitchen facilities in which to cook fresh and healthy meals for their students. This has become a national issue over the last 2 years under the campaigning for better quality school food lead by celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver. As an example, one in seven primary schools in Birmingham do not have kitchen facilities on site.

Now councils are now responding financially to the challenge. The City of Birmingham has so far allocated £750,000 for the installation of 3 new kitchens out of the 44 school kitchens they have pledged to renovate. There are also other monies that can be placed towards kitchen renovations. These include central government neighbourhood renewal grants, single regeneration grants, head teacher discretionary funds of up to £50,000, central property maintenance budgets, as well as, outside charity grants. As an example, a school in Wales received a grant of £9.500 from the HSBO Foundation for school kitchen renovations.

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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.