SANTANDER IN NEW FM DEAL WITH GSH GROUP

Santander Global Facilities has awarded a new three year contract worth £6.2 million per annum to GSH Group for the provision of facilities management services across its retail banking portfolio.

This new agreement builds on the existing partnership and includes an increased UK network now totalling more than 1,200 sites, to incorporate Santander's acquisitions of Bradley & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester last year.

GSH Group will provide a comprehensive facilities management solution including mechanical and electrical services, planned preventative maintenance and internal and external fabric maintenance. In addition to this, the company will now manage the UK cleaning operation. The solution will be underpinned by the GSH Helpdesk, which will handle all incoming calls, providing the retail network with a single point of contact for all facilities management enquiries.

The operation will utilise GSH Group´s unique High Street Solutions service, where engineering resources are used across multiple contracts to reduce response times, avoid excessive travelling and achieve economies of scale. Around 350 engineers operate regionally to service up to nine separate customers in any one high street to ensure sites are maintained in a fast and efficient manner.

Peter Woods, at Santander Global Facilities commented: “GSH Group has been providing an effective facilities management solution across the Abbey retail network for the past three years, so we were pleased they were successful in our re-tendering process to include our recent UK acquisitions. The company has demonstrated its ability to deliver a quality service that combines a highly-skilled team with advanced management and operational processes.”

Chris Riley, Deputy Managing Director at GSH Group stated: “We have developed a strong relationship with Santander Global Facilities based on trust and driven by results. This is the second multi-million pound contract we have secured within the banking sector in recent months and underlines our ability to add value to our customers' operations and provide innovative solutions that meet their precise FM needs.”

The partnership will also continue to support Santander´s overall Corporate Social Responsibility objectives with the ‘energyplus´ energy management agreement. Since this agreement began in 2007, energy consumption across the ‘Abbey´ retail banking portfolio has been driven down by an average of 20 per cent. This represents cost savings in excess of £400,000 and a reduction in carbon emissions of more than 1,200 tonnes.