Newcastle City Council partnership with eaga launched

Oct 9 2009 The Journal

A UNIQUE partnership which will bring a multi-million pound boost to the Tyneside economy was launched yesterday.

Newcastle City Council and green support services firm eaga plc are linking up to form a company aiming to land £45m worth of public sector contracts over the next two years. The move will secure around 2,000 jobs and create hundreds more, as well as bringing investment into the city.

Called the Real Partnership, the venture will bid for contracts to provide services such as payroll, benefits, council tax payments, IT and customer service, in a market worth £7bn.

Real will be based at the Tower in Gosforth, built as a headquarters for Northern Rock but bought by the city council for a rumoured £22m earlier this year.

The council says it is currently engaged in complex legal discussions over its purchase of the Tower, but expects to be handed the keys within the month.

The never-used 10-storey building at Regent Centre will be rented to Real and eaga on a 25-year lease and will be renamed Partnership House.

Staff should be at their desks in the new building early in the New Year.

Real bosses say the initiative will be the most ambitious of its kind in the UK, saving money for the council by making more efficient use of its existing systems and winning contracts to bring in cash, benefiting taxpayers.