Cordant Services, part of the contractor Cordant Group, has gained a three year contract to deliver ‘soft’ services across eight UK shopping centres managed by Capital & Regional, the shopping centre property investment company. This represents the first time Cordant Services (which has a presence within the wider retail sector) will provide solutions to the shopping centre market.
Cordant Services will provide cleaning and security at The Mall in Blackburn, Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, Exchange in Ilford, The Marlowes in Hemel Hempstead, The Mall in Luton, The Mall in Walthamstow, The Mall in Wood Green and The Mall in Maidstone. At each site, the company will deliver a ‘guest experience service’ of manned guarding, CCTV monitoring and traditional cleaning services and a number of ‘Guest Experience Hosts’,for shoppers and other visitors. A total of 380 employees will work across the eight sites, of which around 340 transferred to Cordant under TUPE in February. Each member of staff will also receive additional training as required, the contractor adds.
The contract came in a competitive tender process that initially featured 12 service providers. Cordant points to its decision to become a Social Enterprise Business in 2017. Cordant will establish a specialist hub within each shopping centre where it will advertise regional employment opportunities, host career workshops, offer free training and advice, CV reviews and hold mock interviews. The company will also provide health and well-being information and organise seminars and roundtables for SMEs to encourage networking between local businesses.
Kate Thursfield at Capital & Regional, said: “During the tender process we were thoroughly impressed by Cordant’s approach to social responsibility and its support for the communities it works within. The hubs within each centre will not only increase collaboration between local businesses, bring people from the community together and create a family friendly environment, but they will boost consumer footfall and attract more retailers. This approach, combined with its exemplary track record in delivering industry-leading cleaning and security services, made them an obvious choice for us.”
Guy Pakenham, Managing Director at Cordant Cleaning, said: “Following many successful years working with some of the UK’s most established retailers, we have now taken this opportunity to enter the shopping centre market. Our flexibility, experience and extensive resources puts us in a very strong position to make a significant impact within this space. We look forward to working very closely with the Capital & Regional team to develop a partnership that delivers real benefits across the board.
“Since becoming a Social Enterprise Business we have helped thousands of temporary staff find permanent positions, enrolled hundreds of staff on apprenticeship programmes and achieved our status as a Disability Confident Employer, plus much more. This important contract will help us to build on this success and we are excited to be helping local people from each individual community
