Ebrington contract went outside city

The successful firm - one of three to apply - was based in Dromore, County Down.

Two companies from Londonderry were both unsuccessful in their separate tender bids one of which was a joint venture with a firm based in the North West of England.

Despite the award of the contract outside the city 70 per cent of goods and services for the St Valentine’s Day extravaganza were procured locally.

Details were revealed by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) in response to an Assembly Question tabled by Foyle MLA Pat Ramsey.

OFMDFM stated: “Ilex procured an Events Management company to manage the opening of Ebrington Parade Ground. In line with procurement guidelines this opportunity was publicly advertised and three applications, one based in Dromore, one based in Derry/Londonderry and a joint venture between a Derry/Londonderry firm and a firm based in the North West of England, were received and assessed.

“The successful company is based in Dromore, but engages staff from across the region.”

According to the Department ILEX stipulated that applicants had to demonstrate a commitment to sourcing goods and services locally.

“As a consequence of this, almost 70 per cent of goods and services for the event have been procured locally. Services were sought from a total of 103 suppliers,” OFMDFM revealed.

There were 74 successful companies. Fifty-two were from Londonderry; 10 from Down; nine from Antrim; and three from outside NI.