Construction companies in Oxfordshire have been invited to a free 'meet the buyer' event in Oxford on 8 October to learn more about upcoming work contracts.

Constructionline, a procurement and supply chain management scheme, will host the event at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, to provide small businesses with introductions to procurement teams representing large construction service buyers in the Oxfordshire area.

Buyers already signed up to the event include contractors Mears, Hill Construction and Bouygues UK, as well as local authorities, Reading Borough Council and the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Speller Metcalfe has been confirmed among the list of exhibitors and will be recruiting for work on its upcoming projects on Sovereign Housing’s £320m framework, a four-year project that will deliver new-build housing in Oxfordshire.

Tom Smith, supply chain manager with Speller Metcalfe, will give a presentation on how the company uses pre-qualification scheme PAS91 to streamline its sub-contractor procurement processes.

The event will see decision-makers from the organisations give presentations detailing upcoming work opportunities, as well as providing attendees with advice on bidding for work.

Constructionline hosts more than 40 meet the buyer events each year. In 2014, the events were attended by more than 4,000 suppliers and 240 buyers, for works from minor projects valued at £30,000 to some of the UK’s largest framework agreements, such as the Elephant & Castle regeneration project worth £1.5bn.

Andy Turner, business development manager at Constructionline, said: “Our meet the buyer event in Oxford will offer valuable introductions for Oxfordshire small and medium-sized enterprises to meet with some of the country’s major buyers.

“We’ve found that contractors operating in regions like Oxfordshire are keen to work with local companies, so it’s a great opportunity for these small firms to learn about how they can tender for such large projects, which they may have previously thought they wouldn’t be able to gain access to.”

The event will run from 8.30am to 2pm.

Registration is open to all suppliers, and can be done by visiting www.constructionline.co.uk/events.