GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE GREENWICH
EXPERIENCE
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
OUR CENTRES








Waterfront Leisure Centre
Thamesmere Leisure
Centre
Plumstead Leisure Centre
Eltham Millennium
Coldharbour Leisure
Centre
The Valley Leisure Centre
Charlton Lido
Tramshed Theatre
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD




Arches Leisure Centre
Eltham Pools
Meadowside Leisure
Centre
All public leisure centres
in the London Boroughs
of: Waltham Forest (5)
Merton (4)
Newham (4)
Epsom (1)
THE PROBLEM in 1993
 The
Council had to make £35,000,000 of
cuts to its base budget
 Total Council Budget £210,000,000
 Education Element £100,000,000
 Leisure Services Budget £20,000,000
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE TRADITIONAL
RESPONSE
 Service
Reductions
 Closures and Redundancies
 Leisure as a discretionary service hit
hard
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE IMMEDIATE
EFFECT ON THE LEISURE
CENTRES CONTRACT
£400,000 contract reduction
 Closure of two or three centres
 The Loss of up to 30 Full Time Jobs
 Service Decimated
 No investment - No long term future
 Annual Cuts & Closures

GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
Greenwich chose an IPS
 Society
for the Benefit of the
Community
 Social Enterprise - staff led
 Loss of direct control to the Council
BUT
 Can achieve Rate Relief savings
 Can save jobs & services
 Value of NNDR savings in 1993 was in
excess of £400K, (the savings target).
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
EPITHETS
 Society
for the Benefit of the Community
 Cooperative Structure
 Not Profit Distributing
 Cannot be Bought Out
 Community Company
 Partner with the Council
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
BENEFITS OF A ‘NOT
FOR PROFIT’ ORGANISATION
 Single
focused organisation
 Employee empowerment
 Fiscal benefits of Rates & VAT
 Eases Councils 5% VAT exemption
threshold
 Free of Capital controls
 Free to diversify
 Demonstrates Best Value
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
ALL STAKEHOLDERS
NEED TO AGREE
 The
Council Members
 The Client
 The Workforce
 The Managers
 The Customers
 The Trades Unions
 ..and Other Council Departments
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE COUNCIL DOES
NOT CONTROL THE
‘INPUTS’
 GLL
is an independent organisation
 GLL determine staff pay & conditions
(but they are TUPE protected)
 GLL is free to determine how the
service is structured
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE COUNCIL STILL
CONTROLS THE SERVICE
(OUTPUTS)
 Via
a Lease on the Buildings
 Via the Grant
 Via the Members on the Board (19%)
 The
Effect is the Same as a Contract but
Annually Variable
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - ITS OWNERSHIP
 Owned
by the Contracted Staff
 One Person, One Share, One Vote
 Shares £25 each
 80 % Take up from Eligible Staff
 Other staff still work for GLL
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - THE MANAGEMENT
BOARD
 11
Elected Employees
 3 Members of the Council
 2 Elected Customers
 1 Trades Union Representative
 + the Managing Director
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
EMPLOYEE BOARD
MEMBERS
 Elections
Allow Representation from:
Across the leisure centres
 Gender & Ethnicity
All Grades

GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - THE MANAGEMENT
BOARD ROLE
 Meets
Bi - Monthly
 Agrees and directs Policy
 Appoints Senior Managers
 Is the Legal Entity
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - THE DEMOCRACY
 Board
is Annually Elected
 Workforce can call Emergency General
Meetings
 Site Based Consultative Mechanisms for
the management Board:
Buddy System
Notice Boards
Team Meetings
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - MANAGEMENT
 Strong
Professional Management
 Recommend Policy to Board
 Implement Board Decisions
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
KEY CORPORATE
STRATEGY
 ‘Customer
Driven’ Service Principles
 Controlled and Sustainable Growth
 Reinvestment in Facilities and Service
 Underlying Social Objectives
 Staff Development and Training
 Local employment & career opportunities
 Award Winning Standards
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
CREATING A ‘STAKEHOLDING’
ORGANISATION IS A NEW
SKILL
 Staff
Meetings
 Regular Newsletters
 Trades Union Consultation
 External Advice & Support
 Time, Commitment & Leadership
 Not an Overnight Job
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
HOW LONG DID IT
TAKE

1992

1993

agreement
occurs - GLL
Initial Vision Paper
Paper agreed by Committee
Budget cuts identified
Tentative go ahead (2 options)
Staff & TUs agree IPS proposal
June Detailed Committee
July Seamless Transfer
is Born !
2001
Still Going Strong !
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
July
Oct
Nov
Jan
May
THE IPS HAD UNANIMOUS
POLITICAL SUPPORT
 LABOUR
Stakeholders
Workers Control
 LIB/DEMS
Social Ownership
 CONSERVATIVES
Externalisation
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GREATER FUNDING
OPPORTUNITIES EXIST
 Sports
Lottery
 Charities Lottery
 SRB / Capital Challenge
 European Funding
 PFI
 Borrowing ?
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
VALUE FOR MONEY
INCOME AGAINST COST TO THE COUNCIL
INCOME
£10,000,000
COST TO
COUNCIL
£8,000,000
£6,000,000
£4,000,000
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
99/ 00
98/ 99
97/ 98
96/ 97
95/ 96
94/ 95
93/ 94
92/ 93
91/ 92
£0
90/ 91
£2,000,000
VALUE FOR MONEY
DIRECT REINVESTMENT BY GLL
£1,000,000
£800,000
£600,000
£400,000
£200,000
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
REINVESTMENT
98/ 99
96/ 97
94/ 95
92/ 93
90/ 91
£0
GLL - THE SUCCESS
 Cost
to Council Reduced Annually
 Income Increased Annually
 Effective Social Inclusion Policy
 More than 100,000 GreenwichCard
Members
 30,000 HigherSavers
 Quality Award Winners (Quest & ISO9002)
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
National Award Winners
 Chartermark
- TWICE 1995 &1998
 Investors In people - TWICE (1997
&2001)
 Best Leisure Operator (LPF) - 2000
 Best Fitness Centre (FIA) -2000
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL our People
 Local
Employer
 Good conditions
 Many new jobs created
 Staff Development Programme
 Low staff turnover
 Exemplary sickness levels
 Genuine stakeholders!
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
GLL - THE RESULT
 Closures
Avoided
 Services Expanded
 Jobs & Conditions Protected & Enhanced
 Democracy Introduced
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
OVERVIEW
THE BENEFITS
 Empowerment,
Enthusiasm & Ownership
 Faster & More Flexible Decision Making
 Free of Local Government Bureaucracy
 Customer Involvement
 Positive Cash Flow
 Free of Capital Controls
 Partnership Opportunities
 & of course .. Reduced Costs
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD
THE CONCEPT - SOME
WORDS TO SUM UP
 EXCITING
 IMAGINATIVE
 INNOVATIVE
 ENTREPRENEURIAL
 EMPOWERING
&
SUCCESSFUL !
GREENWICH LEISURE LTD