Without regular maintenance in place, Freedom Leisure were facing excessive remedial costs. By partnering with our dedicated Maintenance Division, a programme of regular visits has greatly reduced overall maintenance costs and the need for remedial repairs.
Freedom Leisure is an innovative leisure trust with a number of sites across England and Wales. As one of the largest not-for-profit leisure trusts in the country, Freedom Leisure’s vision is focused on “improving lives through leisure”.
As part of delivering this vision, the trust holds a number of key objectives. Integral to these is improving and delivering quality services for customers.
In order to do this, an important goal for the trust is to maximise the lifespan and performance of each facility. This is where appropriate maintenance is crucial. Speaking with Sharon Morfitt, Group Procurement Manager at Freedom Leisure, it’s clear that the existing programme of pitch maintenance was proving costly:
“Our planned visit costs were low but the remedial spend excessive.”
The team at S&C Slatter reviewed Freedom Leisure’s existing programme and quickly identified the issue. Planned maintenance costs were low because the regularity of visits were too low. This was evidenced in the high remedial costs. By undertaking a thorough review of Freedom Leisure’s sites, the team were able to provide a successful solution.
“Paul demonstrated by increasing the visits the remedial costs would be significantly reduced – and that has been the case ever since. Paul’s knowledge and approach was impressive and it was clear we would secure a partnership as opposed to a customer and contractor relationship.”
The team deliver regular maintenance to over 20 Freedom Leisure sites. They ensure that pitches are kept in optimum condition, free from debris, with flattened pile revived. As well as this, they carry out ad-hoc repairs as required, such as removing and replacing small areas of artificial turf. By quickly identifying and resolving issues, further damage – that would be more costly – is prevented.
Since partnering with Freedom Leisure, remedial maintenance costs have been greatly reduced. This allows the not-for-profit trust to use that spend and reinvest it into members and facilities to achieve their goals.
Working together as a team, our maintenance experts ensure strong communication with Freedom Leisure:
“Without a doubt, you are the eyes and ears of our business and we look to you to direct and advise”.
By designing a tailored programme of regular maintenance, problems are resolved before they become costly issues. Not only has this lowered remedial costs, it’s protected the performance and longevity of each facility. This helps to ensure maximum return on investment.
It’s not only about reducing costs though. Sharon advised that regular maintenance has “stopped negativity“, improving the feedback from those using the facilities. This contributes to the trust’s objective of providing quality services and experiences for members.
Delivering over 180 scheduled maintenance visits per year, we’re thrilled to play our part in delivering the trust’s vision. We were delighted to celebrate 5 years of partnership in 2020 and look forward to continuing to work together to improve lives through leisure for years to come!
It’s a pleasure working with the whole team. The service is great, nothing is too much trouble and there’s always a genuine desire to support. That goes a long way to promoting a long term partnership."
Slatter Sports Maintain is a specialist division of S&C Slatter with an exceptional heritage in sports facility maintenance, dating back to the company’s formation in 1991.
Projects range substantially in size, complexity and application but all continue to embrace and exhibit the same attention to detail and commitment to outstanding personal customer service.
Call 01635 34521 or email enquiries@slattersportsmaintain.com to talk to our experts.
