The PPA have recently published a story outlining their first years partnership with us.
With quotes from several members and examples of savings it’s a glowing review we’re very proud of:

Regency Purchasing group have saved our business 17.7% on our food purchasing against Pelican, who were our previous supplier. They have also achieved considerable savings on other categories and we have found the service to be very good; we have regular contact and support from Regency

As the article goes on to state we’ve had a very successful and enjoyable year working with the Play Providers Association and have formed relationships we’re sure will go from strength to strength.

Read the full article and details on the Play Providers Association including how to become a member.

Regency Purchasing Group will hold a Food and Drink Service Exhibition on the Grand Pier on Wednesday 25th January.

The group, which was set up in Weston 23 years ago, has invited all its trade members to come along to the show.

Live cookery demonstrations will take place throughout the day, along with cocktail lessons. There will also be wine and coffee tasting opportunities. Each guest attending the show will also receive a £25 Grand Pier ride voucher.

Regency Purchasing Group Managing Director Alex Demetriou said:

We thought we’d welcome in the New Year by introducing our purchasing group members to some fresh ideas and experience the expertise of our food and drink suppliers. They want to share their inspiration and money saving ideas with our members.

I think the event will be very educational and it will also be a fun day out for our members, many of whom will not have been to the Grand Pier before.

We have seen our business grow by 65% in the last year as the recession has bitten hard and trading has become difficult. Our pricing is extremely competitive, so businesses are coming to us to get the best deals possible.

The Play Providers Association (PPA) held its prestigious ASPIRE Awards ceremony last week in conjunction with the Euro Attractions Show (EAS), London. Held at Olympia, the flagship event for the indoor play sector attracted over 100 guests from PPA member companies nationwide as well as industry colleagues.

Regency Purchasing were delighted to be given the opportunity to present the award for multi-site operator of the year. This year the award was won by Gambado of Surrey who have seven indoor playcentres throughout the UK.

Other attendees on the night included Bubbles Factory from Scotland, Creepy Crawlies in York and Adventure Point Darlington along with over 30 other operators and suppliers.

Regency Purchasing Group sponsor and host regional charity day at Weston-super-Mare Golf Club.

With over 150 players and 50 teams this event was another great success for the local Somerset Golf Union. The Regency Purchasing Group were invited to sponsor the event by the local Somerset Golf Union elected member Mr John Keight. When John approached us the Regency Purchasing Group were very happy to get involved. The Regency Group are always keen to support local business and local associations as its important for all local businesses to support each other at all time and especially during these tough economic times. Among the clubs attending on the day were Wells Golf Club, Burnham and Berrow Golf Club, Worlebury Golf Club and of course the hosting club Weston-super-Mare.

On the day The Regency Group was ain turn supported by two of their key suppliers in Matthew Clark and Brakes. In conjunction with these suppliers the day was also supported by The Feel Good Drink Company, Bottle Green Drinks and Nestle.

The Regency Purchasing Group proudly and strongly support the game of golf whenever possible, this support is given regionally with our local golf unions and nationally with companies such as Foremost Golf.

Over £2500 was raised on the day for Junior Golf throughout Somerset so it was a very worthwhile cause and The Regency Purchasing Group would like thank The Somerset Golf Union for offering them the chance to support such a worthy cause.

This year the Regency Purchasing Group were delighted to have been invited by Vision XS to be one of the keynote speakers in the 2011 conference held at the magnificent Heythrop Park Crowne Plaza in Oxfordshire.

Among the guests and delegates were a number of business owners from not only the UK but from all around the world including South Africa and the USA.

Among the presenters and delegates attending the conference over the two days were Simon Eagen from Bewilderwood in East Anglia, Edward Pawley from Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, Andy Beer from The National Trust and Tristram Meyhew from Go Ape who have centres throughout the UK. Visitors from further afield who made trip included Sabine Lehmann from Table Mountain in South Africa and Vision international partners Anke Schwarzwälder and Chris Rumbell.

The overriding theme for the two day event was Return On Investment in your leisure business taking in areas such as investment in catering and investment in yourself and your people. The Regency Purchasing Group presented specifically on the challenges associated with investing into your catering offer and maximising the profits as a result, the presentation asked the following questions:

The conference was a great success and as a result The Regency Purchasing Group has signed a number of significant deals with some high profile businesses as a direct result of their involvement.

Regency Purchasing Group has joined forces with Foremost Golf, in a partnership designed to save golf clubs money.

Foremost Golf started out as a buying group for goods that are sold in golf club shops but it has now expanded to supplying over 1,000 golf clubs with other goods and services. It is responsible for 25% of all UK golf sales, with purchases in excess of £80 million per annum.

Regency Purchasing Group will supply Foremost Golf with food, drink, sundries and waste management solutions, which will enable them to pass on savings to their Golf Club members, in a contract that is potentially worth £50m. The deal with Foremost Golf comes just months after Regency Purchasing Group won a £6 million contract to supply the Play Providers Association (PPA) and its members with all their food and drink purchasing.

We are absolutely delighted that the PPA have decided to work with Regency Purchasing Group. Our team here are absolutely committed to delivering excellent service and support and we look forward to doing this for all PPA members.

Alex Demetriou from Regency purchasing Group

As a business The Regency Purchasing Group always strive to support and work alongside other local businesses.

Taking this into account Regency are delighted to announce that they have recently secured a deal to work alongside one of the Southwest’s premier local brewers and pub operators in Butcombe Brewery, Butcombe currently own and manage in excess of 15 pubs that are ideally placed throughout the Southwest.

Regency Purchasing and Butcombe have now agreed phase one in a new deal to include the food purchasing across the whole Butcombe estate spread throughout The West Country and the surrounding areas. The Butcombe estate of pubs now covers an area from as far north as Cheltenham and as far south as Yeovil. In Bristol: Bell – Stokes Croft, Cottage – Baltic Wharf, Colston Yard – City Centre, Prince of Wales – Westbury on Trym. Nr. Bath: Old Crown – Kelston, Rose and Crown – Hinton Charterhouse. Nr. Frome: Cross Keys – Rode. Mendips: Ring O’Bells – Compton Martin, Ring O’Bells – Hinton Blewitt, Queen Victoria – Priddy, Lamb – Axbridge, Swan – Rowberrow. Weston super Mare: Woolpack – Worle, Queens Arms – Bleadon. Nr. Bridgwater: Malt Shovel – Cannington, Red Tile – Cossington. Nr. Yeovil: Fox and Hounds – Charlton Adam.

Butcombe Brewery Managing Director Guy Newell added: As part of the initial comparison phase and assessment The Regency Purchasing Group identified a 15% saving across key lines within the food category which in these current times of unprecedented food and cost inflation is a significant achievement for a business the size of Butcombe.

Regency Purchasing Group has won the contract to supply celebrity chef Marco Pierre White’s North West restaurants with all their alcoholic and soft drinks.

Regency Purchasing Group was set up in Weston 22 years ago. The company is a procurement business for food, drink, utilities and equipment for clients in the leisure industry, using its purchasing power to secure the best possible pricing.

Managing Director Alex Demetriou said he was delighted to have won the contract and to be working with such a high-profile chef.

He said:

The purchasing contract we have with Marco Pierre White will save him in excess of £30,000 a year on beverage purchases alone, on what is a £350,000 contract.

The business has grown by a massive 65% in the last year as the recession has hit and trading has become difficult. Our pricing is extremely competitive, so businesses are coming to us to get the best possible deals.

Marco Pierre White said:

Regency Purchasing Group has negotiated a fantastic wine and spirit support package for both our new restaurants in the North West. We are delighted with the support, service and competitive terms we have received from them.

The Regency Purchasing Group have recently hosted and sponsored an event for a selection of some of the UK’s biggest and best leisure industry owners, operators and managers to the South West of the UK.

This group of key personalities from the UK leisure industry were attending the regional BALPPA event that is hosted around the UK twice a year. Among the attendees for the three day event included Edward Pawley from Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, Nick Thompson from Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Phillip Miller from Adventure Island in Southend and John Bollom from Mumbles Pier in South Wales.

BALPPA, the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions visited Wookey Hole, Bristol Zoo and Brean Leisure Park before moving onto Weston where the group has not been for over 17 years. In Weston, the members had a sumptuous 3-course lunch at the Thatched Cottage Restaurant on Weston super Mare’s seafront and a presentation on the rebuilding of the Pier from Kerry Michael, joint owner of the Pier.

The group then took a tour of the Pier building site. Regency Purchasing Group are the official approved purchasing group supplier for BALPPA in the UK and work with some of the UK’s biggest and best attractions the UK has to offer.