This decision was made at the officer key decision meeting on April 8, where Conrad Hall, director of resources, approved the recommendation.
The decision to engage GLL – a charitable social enterprise which manages leisure centres under the Better brand – was made after a previous procurement exercise was suspended, as it was deemed more cost-effective.
A report was presented to Mr Hall regarding the capital works at Newham’s leisure centres.
In September 2017, the cabinet approved a 10-year capital programme with a budget of £9.9 million to upgrade the borough’s leisure centres.
As part of this programme, the council undertook a procurement exercise in early 2024 to secure a mechanical and electrical contractor for works across East Ham, Newham, and Atherton leisure centres.
The most economical tender received was £4,613,000.
However, the available budget was subsequently reduced to £4,303,000.
In April, Newham Council entered into a leisure management contract with GLL to manage the leisure centre operations.
As part of this contract, GLL would deliver a range of capital works to ensure the leisure centres remain compliant, open, operational, and available for residents.
The report recommended that GLL undertake the mechanical and electrical capital works at the leisure centres for £3,118,000.
According to the report, this would provide better value for money than the council could obtain through a one-off contract, due to GLL’s established supply chains and ability to expedite the works in line with its operations.
This would also reduce the risk of financial claims against the council for loss of earnings should any council-managed work be delayed or centres need to close for longer than planned.
The report stated that GLL’s estimate of £3,118,000 for the mechanical, electrical, and building fabric works was £1,495,000 lower than the lowest tender received in the earlier procurement exercise for the mechanical and electrical works alone.
The report also stated that the leisure management contract contains mechanisms to ensure that GLL obtains best value when awarding capital works, thus ensuring value for money for the council.
