East Boldon firm beats global names to win consultancy award

A South Tyneside company has been recognised as one of the best in only its second year of business.
Compere Stephen Manghan, left, presents Terry Shoulder, Caroline OGrady and Stacey Coote of Coote OGrady with their award.Compere Stephen Manghan, left, presents Terry Shoulder, Caroline OGrady and Stacey Coote of Coote OGrady with their award.
Compere Stephen Manghan, left, presents Terry Shoulder, Caroline OGrady and Stacey Coote of Coote OGrady with their award.

Coote O’Grady, based in East Boldon, scooped the prestigious Best New Consultancy Project award at the World Procurement Awards 2018.

The company beat off competition from several high-profile global names, including KPMG, to win the award.

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The team were presented with the honour in front of more than 1,000 procurement professionals at a ceremony hosted by actor Stephen Manghan at the Intercontinental London.

The award was for a project that reduced a FTSE100 client’s legal spend by 34% - a saving which equated to around $20million.

The win is even more significant because its entire team of eight people – five of whom are based in the North East – all work flexible hours, fitting their demanding consultancy roles around family commitments.

The World Procurement Awards are the most sought-after awards in procurement, recognising those at the forefront of the profession.

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Judges include senior representatives from Adidas Group, Kellogg and Danske Bank.

Partner Caroline O’Grady, originally from Sunderland, returned to her native North East after a career as a solicitor and Law Firm Panel Director in London.

She said: “We are overwhelmed to have won the most prestigious award in procurement in our second year of business.

“I am so proud of the whole team who’ve worked really hard to deliver such high-quality work for our clients, and this award reflects their efforts.

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“I am a big champion of flexible working, something that we have offered to all of our employees from the start, and this award proves it can deliver big business benefits, both for the company and the client.

“We’ve recruited top quality talent from this ethos, and our exceptional skillset has meant we’ve grown our client base and secured repeat work from existing clients.”

Coote O’Grady succeeded in a three-stage judging process, including being judged by a peer review and face-to-face debate.

Tim Burt, from Procurement Leaders magazine, said: “Legal spend is a hard area to manage for procurement, due to the high level of expertise required.

“This entry demonstrated clear return on investment and a fresh solution that adds value.”