Horse Racing Ireland hopes to gallop into events with property consultants

Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin

Sean Pollock Email

September 27 2020 02:30 AM

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the national authority for thoroughbred racing, is seeking property consultants to assist in maximising the commercial potential of buildings at the race track on non-racedays.

In documents, seen by the Sunday Independent, HRI said it may require the property consultants to carry out work that could include strategic property advice and assistance in hiring third-party companies for small pieces of work, such as architects. The procurement process is being carried out under a single-party framework agreement in which there is no guarantee of purchase.

Regarding Leopardstown, HRI said in the documents that it envisages it will have requirements in the "first instance". The authority said Leopardstown comprises a site of over 200 acres and has a "large amount of undeveloped space that can be developed to complement the existing facilities".

HRI hopes to use buildings at its sites for commercial purposes, such as events, on non-racedays.

The documents go on to say the property consultant may be asked to advise on potential improvements to the environmental performance of the Leopardstown estate and propose "sustainable/green initiatives".

A spokeswoman for HRI said it requires the consultant for an initial two-year period, with the option to extend for a maximum of a further four years.

"We have listed a comprehensive, but not exhaustive, list of potential services that HRI / its subsidiaries could avail of under this contract in the term. It is emphasised that a framework agreement constitutes no guarantee to purchase a specific quantity of services from a particular economic operator.

"For context, the incumbent Property Services provider (2017 - 2020 term) has primarily been required to value HRI property for auditing purposes as part of our normal financial reporting cycle."

Separately, HRI is also seeking a consultant to assist in creating a mobile app strategy. According to documents, the authority hopes the app will engage and grow racing fan numbers and expand the addressable audience to support the growth of advanced ticket sales.

In the documents, HRI said it hopes the app can create a "seamless, intuitive raceday experience".

Services could include the initial purchase of tickets, accessing the racecourse via e-ticket on mobile and receiving push notifications during racing with the latest news and offers at the racecourse.