Compass will manage catering at the venue under its Eurest brand.

At a meeting of the council’s Finance and Strategic Planning Committee last week, the committee accepted a recommendation from independent tourism and hospitality consultants, Horwath Asia Pacific Ltd, to appoint Compass for a ten year period subject to Compass and the council signing a final catering agreement.

Horwath Asia Pacific Ltd had been commissioned to act for the council as specialist advisers in the development of tender documentation and in the subsequent evaluation of all catering tenders.

Mayor Kevin Winters said the tender from Compass Group clearly provided the best deal for both the ratepayers of Rotorua and for the efficient operation of the Energy Events Centre. The contract would provide employment opportunities for many Rotorua people, he said.

“Compass’ tender met the council’s expectations in terms of service quality and projected revenue from catering, as well as our expectations for financing the centre’s catering plant and equipment.

“Compass is a highly respected and experienced catering company in New Zealand and has worldwide links,” said Mayor Winters. “Their management has a strong belief that our new complex will be successful and they are prepared to invest significantly in it.”

Event Venues Rotorua general manager Peter McLeod said 22 local, national and international businesses had initially registered their interest in tendering for the catering contract.

“Eighteen of these proceeded to the stage where commercially confidential agreements were signed and three organisations ultimately submitted detailed formal tenders, all of which were subject to in-depth evaluation by Horwath Asia Pacific Ltd.

“The process to appoint a caterer has been a very comprehensive and robust one. The tender documentation allowed for a level of innovation to be demonstrated and for alternatives, such as multi-party catering proposals, to be submitted,” says Mr McLeod. “In the end, the successful tender from Compass stood out above the rest.”

The $25m convention, sports, concert and exhibition complex is currently under construction in the city’s Government Gardens and is due to open for business early next year [2007]. Forward bookings already secured show the centre is well ahead of original business forecasts.