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CBCS completes €800,000 IBM relocation contract
Sunday, January 11, 2009 By Post Reporter

Company: Coldwell Banker
Corporate Services Done Deal: €800,000
Turnover: €1.25 million
Staff: four Established: 1996

Relocation specialist Coldwell Banker Corporate Services (CBCS) has completed a major relocation contract, valued at €800,000,with IBM in Dublin.

CBCS managing director Gerry Grimes said the deal was the largest private-sector relocation contract of its kind awarded in Ireland to date. ‘‘We won the contract on the basis that we could supply everything from a single source with a fixed cost,” said Grimes.

‘‘IBM wanted to be able to deal with just one contact to manage the entire process. Also, the fact that they were getting a fixed cost was a big benefit - they knew what their buying into, what their entire liability would be.”

Under the terms of the deal, awarded in April, CBCS undertook to manage a range of relocation services for 155 IBM employees travelling to Ireland on a six-month training programme.

‘‘We sourced suitable houses and apartments, organised airport and daily transport, provided welcome packs on arrival, organised [the] weekly cleaning and servicing of each house and apartment, in addition to handling all utility bills,’’ said Grimes. ‘‘In terms of size and scale, this was the largest private sector relocation contract of its kind in Ireland, involving a staggering 22,000 bed nights over the six month project.”

Grimes said the corporate relocation market, still in its infancy in Ireland, stood to benefit from the cost-cutting trend brought on by the global downturn. ‘‘As HR and procurement managers look to make savings on relocation expenditure, an increasing number of companies in Dublin and Leinster will look to corporate house and apartment lettings in place of booking hotel rooms,” said Grimes. He said IBM’s agreement with CBCS had netted the IT company savings of between 50 and 60 per cent over the hotel-based alternative.

CBCS employs four staff at offices on Harcourt Street and Lucan in Dublin. It has an annual turnover of €1.25 million. Clients include Canada Life, Alcatel Lucent, Abbott laboratories and Sandvik.

Grimes established the company with co-founder Maureen Caden in 1996a s Home from Home Relocation Services, before rebranding in 2004. It now operates as a wholly Irish owned franchised office of Coldwell Banker Corporation.

‘‘We took a franchise with Coldwell Banker, an American estate agency, because they have operations in 60 countries worldwide and carry a very good brand with them, which we basically bought into. We have retained 100 per cent ownership of the company,” said Grimes.

Grimes said the company’s relocation service was based on a well established US business model.

‘‘We are an outsourced accommodation provider. We do two things: we do relocation, where we find property for the people; and we do corporate lettings, where we find property for the people,” he said.

‘Where companies bring a large group of employees into Ireland, for business or training, you’re looking at a high cost for hotel accommodation. On top of that, you’re looking at a meal allowance.

‘‘The solution we offer is that we provide apartments, which cuts the cost. It also means that the employees themselves have a home away from home, rather than staying in a hotel.”

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