New contract with Government

office2office plc (o2o) is delighted to announce that Banner Business Services Limited has today been awarded a £37m annual contract to be sole provider of office products and services under a new framework contract to supply Central Government departments. A key part of the contract is Banner’s unique Closed Loop solution, providing Government with secure document shredding and the subsequent recycling of recovered paper.

The framework contract will run for a minimum period of three years with an option to extend for a further year and will be phased in over the next few months. Central Government departments will be mandated to join and it is anticipated that other named public sector bodies will join in due course. The agreement also includes supply to the Ministry of Defence, from which o2o withdrew in 2007 due to unsustainable terms at the time.

The contract has the potential to generate around £37m of annual revenue over four years of which approximately £24m will be net additional business and follows a rigorous competitive tender process that not only safeguards much of Banner’s existing business with Government departments but is also expected to secure significant additional business with new customers on sustainable terms.

David Thomas, Commercial Director of HMRC, commented: “The partnership with Banner Business Services delivers immediate savings by aggregating department volumes through a consolidated supply base as set out within the Government’s Efficiency Review. In line with the Government’s procurement agenda a significant proportion of the goods and services supplied under this contract will be sourced from UK SME’s”.

He added: “This contract will deliver significant environmental benefits by ensuring Government departments move to using recycled paper (which is expected to save the equivalent of over 150,000 trees in 2012 alone). The partnership with Banner enables sustainable procurement through accelerating the Closed Loop initiative where Government paper waste is collected, securely destroyed and re-manufactured to produce recycled copier paper. Ultimately we hope this decision will help lead to the re-opening of a UK based paper recycling mill, creating employment through partnership with the Government."

Simon Moate, the CEO of office2office, commented: "On behalf of the outstanding team of people we have at o2o, we are delighted to have been awarded this contract. This is a landmark deal for o2o and is clear evidence that our lower cost model can deliver long-term and sustainable growth.”