The Accreditation system is aimed at operating BIDs and introduces an assessment as to their management and supervisory systems. It has become the industry standard to measure a BID’s quality management systems.

Our Accreditation Auditors are:

Penny Alexander
Chris Hollins
Gary Reeves
Sunil Varu
Peter Williams

Penny Alexander is a BID consultant drawing on experience gained working in the BID industry for over ten years. She works principally with those developing BIDs and BIDs approaching renewal, providing technical support and guidance, as well as hands on support.
Her current clients include Baker Street Quarter, Love Wimbledon, London Riverside BID and Angel AIM. Prior to setting up her own consultancy, Penny was a Senior Associate at Partnership Solutions.
In this role she worked on both the British BIDs and London BIDs programmes providing consultancy support, training and advice to the BID industry as well as contributing to the Nationwide BID Survey, developing BID best practice and helping devise the British BIDs Accreditation System.
Before joining Partnership Solutions, Penny was Chief Executive of inholborn (now inmidtown), which she led from a small informal business partnership to a highly respected and advanced BID – one of the first in the UK.

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With twenty-five years experience in town and city centre partnerships all over the world, Chris Hollins brings to the accreditation process a wealth of knowledge and appreciation of the many and diverse aspects of team-building, fund-raising , business planning, performance monitoring and best practice generation to be found in the UK’s leading Business Improvement Districts.
Since the inception of BIDs in 2000, Chris has been closely involved, spending time helping a dozen of them set up, providing fundamental business and customer research for several more and latterly running accreditation reviews for British BIDs to ensure quality standards are met and maintained.
He is particularly interested in seeing BIDs give a strong return on investment and quantifying the added value generated for all participating businesses.

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Gary Reeves, the principle of GJR Consulting has over 20 years experience in retail and property. Having spent his earlier career with Marks and Spencer, Gary joined the Property Company Lend Lease and notably, as the destination’s Property Director, developed the customer experience and sense of place at Bluewater, the UK’s premier shopping centre. Significantly, between 2001 and 2008, Gary set up and led Europe’s largest and highest profile Business Improvement District in London’s West End.

As Chief Executive of New West End Company, Gary developed the company into a sustainable business through formal status as a Business Improvement District in 2005 and successfully renewed its mandate in 2008. Under his leadership the organisation delivered a framework to inspire, inform and promote a re-vitalised London’s West End, helping the area towards achieving its full potential as a world-class shopping and leisure experience.

In 2008 Gary established GJR Consulting, a specialist agency advising property owners, retailers, city centre partnerships and public agencies on place management; specifically the driving of commercial benefit from the effective management of retail and leisure destinations and commercial districts.  During the past 2 years the agency has helped develop and secure a number of business partnerships and Business Improvement Districts bringing with it an expertise in developing relationships and delivering commercial return.

Sunil K. Varu BSc DipTP MBA

Sunil has 20 years experience in the town centre arena around town planning, town centre management and business improvement districts (BID). He was Town Centre Manager in both Ayr and Kirkcaldy for 11 and 5 years respectively. His strategic approach ensured the capture of key issues and support, enabling project development and delivery within key themes setting the strategic direction of the two town centre management companies with innovative and aspirational visions, clear strategies and action plans.
With regard to BIDs, Sunil led early discussions with Scottish Enterprise in the late 1990s and in April 2010 successfully took the Kirkcaldy BID through its ballot, established the company with a 5 year business plan and funding of £275,000 per annum and delivered the first year Operational Plan.
Currently, Sunil is supporting “Largs Matters”, the Steering Group overseeing the development of the BID in the Scottish coastal resort of Largs with a ballot planned for Autumn 2012. He is also Chairman of the Association of Town Centre Management (Scotland) and Director of the ATCM representing Scotland.

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For the past 20 years Peter Williams has built a practice (www.themeans.co.uk) that specialises in strategic and organisational development, and economic and community regeneration. In addition to consultancy and research studies, he is fundamentally involved in the delivery of programmes and has wide experience of partnership development and project management in local economic development.  Much of this work has been in urban settings adapting to the run down of traditional industries where he has led regeneration programmes in coal mining valleys, dock and warehousing districts and the decant, demolition and remodelling of failing shopping precincts and social housing estates.
Peter has developed particular expertise in engaging the private sector with broader area regeneration themes and capturing the benefits that the experience and different perspective of business can deliver. Alongside work with development and building preservation trusts he has taken a leading role in the establishment of a number of Business Improvement Districts, and takes a special interest in issues around corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and marketing to businesses.
Peter’s experience has been gained in over 50 locations which range from small market towns to large cities. In addition to consultancy Peter is engaged in the task of translating strategies or delivery plans into action. One current assignment which began in 2000 involves acting as CEO of Better Bankside (www.betterbankside.co.uk) one of the UK’s largest and longest established Business Improvement District. This is based in an area of central London exploiting culture led regeneration. He is also currently advising another nine BIDs.
Peter is keen to promote international knowledge transfer and exchange of best practice. In June 2010 he jointly presented a global review of BIDs at the World Congress. In October 2010 he addressed the German BID conference and the International City and Towns Conference in Australia. He is currently working with the Singapore Government on introducing place management models.  Peter is director of development company Means Renewal Ltd that completed its first scheme earlier this year. He is also voluntary chair of a local recreation association.

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