Making South Bank work for you

South Bank Business Improvement District

Member Benefits Guide

A vision for South Bank

Our shared vision is of a South Bank that: is a desirable destination for culture, business and pleasure; supports and encourages investment and business growth; has a flourishing and cohesive residential community; is welcoming to visitors and tourists; is friendly, clean, colourful, safe, dynamic and diverse. The world-famous South Bank is one of London’s great success stories. In 2000, the area received three million visitors, and we now welcome more than 25 million people each year.

South Bank Employers’ Group (SBEG) was established in 1991 to coordinate and deliver many of the improvements and initiatives that have made South Bank the vibrant and exciting place that it is today. In 2013, SBEG proposed the establishment of a Business Improvement District (BID) as an additional way to engage businesses and employers in the next phase of the area’s development and growth.

Following a successful ballot of local businesses, South Bank BID was set up in late 2014. It is funded through a levy arrangement, and is governed by a Board whose members are drawn from the local business community. SBEG is the delivery agent for South Bank BID, and ensures that local services are coordinated and joined up to maximise benefits to all businesses in South Bank.

From marketing South Bank as London’s leading visitor destination to coordinating schemes that make it cleaner, safer and accessible to all, South Bank BID builds on what’s been achieved to date, and helps to deliver a range of benefits to the business community.

This documents sets out those benefits, and the services that members of the BID can expect. Together, we are working to ensure a successful and prosperous future for South Bank and for everyone who works here.

Anne Golden Mondrian London

South Bank Patrol

• Operating on shift patterns throughout the day and evening, the six-person South Bank Patrol (six patrol officers and one supervisor) works seven days a week to provide a strategic and proactive street patrol service.

• The South Bank Patrol tackles illegal trading, petty crime and issues arising from street drinking, aggressive begging and rough sleeping, as well as act as ambassadors to those visiting the South Bank, whether tourists, residents or local employees, improving their South Bank experience by signposting them to services and informing them of events and places of interest.

• Being at the centre of a shared security information network helps counter terrorism and makes South Bank a safer and more welcoming place to work and visit. 

Met Patrol Plus

• This scheme provides two Metropolitan Police officers, dedicated to serving South Bank.

• This increases police visibility in the area, and facilitates targeted activity against crime and anti-social behaviour.

• Met Patrol Plus supports the work of the South Bank Patrol and the Lambeth Safer Streets team.

South Bank Clean Team

• Operating on shift patterns seven days a week, the six-strong South Bank Clean Team works to provide a flexible, responsive cleansing service to the area, adding value to the services already operated by the local Councils.

• The Team removes graffiti within twenty-four working hours (or four hours if it’s offensive) and undertakes pavement jet washing.

• It also weeds and clears landscaped borders, removes fly posting, and keeps street furniture polished.

• BID businesses can use the handy reporting tool at southbankbid.co.uk to alert the Team to problems and ensure they are swiftly responded to.

Online Attraction

• South Bank BID businesses are featured on one of the most popular destination websites in London, southbanklondon.com, which serves a highly engaged audience of 70,000 online visitors per month, all looking for information about our area.

• Members are also listed on southbankbid.co.uk, the number one source of local South Bank BID news and information.

• South Bank BID businesses with offers to promote can use dedicated sections of both sites, taking advantage of southbanklondon.com’s popular Comps & Offers page and reaching over 25,000 subscribers through our monthly e-newsletter.

The Social Network

• Our popular channels on Facebook (/southbanklondon), Instagram (southbank.london) and Twitter (@southbanklondon / @SouthBankBID) reach a global audience of over 200,000 users.

• Daily features and updates provide the perfect platform to promote South Bank BID businesses through competitions and special offers.

Print Power

• Print is still a great way to reach local workers and visitors, and visitor economy South Bank BID businesses are featured in two highly successful seasonal guides.

• Each year, more than 150,000 guides are distributed across all major London Tourist Information Centres, airports and train stations.

• We also distribute mailers to local residents, print and circulate the popular Shop South Bank retail map and provide tear-off area maps for visitors to the area.

Building the Visitor Welcome

• As well as providing area-wide signage and mapping to aid navigation and drive footfall, visitors benefit from our award-winning InfoBikes, situated on the Riverside Walkway on summer weekends.

• South Bank BID businesses can submit merchandise or printed materials for distribution by the bikes, which are operated by a team of ambassadors who provide on-the-spot information and directions to the thousands of visitors who come to South Bank every summer.

Our Public Realm team keeps South Bank safe, clean and green. We work with a variety of partners to seamlessly integrate a range of essential services.

South Bank is an outstanding brand. Our Destination Marketing team delivers real results in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We provide a platform and the tools for businesses to collaborate and harness the power of traditional and digital media.

Our green agenda• We help businesses to reduce their carbon footprint

and the associated business costs, by facilitating a range of waste management and recycling services.

• We also investigate opportunities for greening the neighbourhood and work to attract investment in sustainable infrastructure.

• We have negotiated preferential rates for BID members with several suppliers who can recycle business waste.

• To find out how your business can benefit from these savings, get in touch with our team at bid@southbanklondon.com

Safer, Cleaner, Greener South Bank

Promoting a Desirable Destination

Reach 70,000 online visitors and 200,000 social users each monthGet southbanklondon.com working for your business by contacting our Marketing Team on editorial@southbanklondon.com

To find out how your business can benefit from these savings, get in touch with our team at

Managing the Impact of Construction

• We are committed to minimising the impact of construction in the area, collaborating with the firmly established South Bank Visitor Management Group to offer local businesses and employees an invaluable online resource – oursouthbank.com.

• The website provides up-to-the-minute information on major construction works and live updates on planning applications, events and highway maintenance.

Reaching tourists and travellers

• We are working in partnership with Excess Baggage to create a fully-fledged Tourist Information Centre in Waterloo Station.

• As a primary point of call for customers of the UK’s busiest train station, this essential resource will showcase South Bank BID members and their promotional materials.

Bringing iBeacon to South Bank

• iBeacon is a new technology that delivers location-specific content to people’s mobile devices.

• We are looking to provide the service across South Bank, allowing visitors to receive customised information – from theatre programmes to restaurant menus.

Free Wi-Fi for all

• South Bank BID is looking to bring free Wi-Fi to the neighbourhood.

• This will improve the online experience of visitors and local residents on the move.

A new destination website

• We are redesigning southbanklondon.com, updating the look and feel to meet the needs of a growing number of users.

• The new site will promote our area and its many attractions even more effectively, and increase the visibility of South Bank BID businesses.

Rewarding loyalty

• Recognising the challenges of online shopping and other consumer trends, South Bank BID is working to establish an area-wide loyalty scheme specifically aimed at local employees, students and residents.

• Providing discounts and offers from participating South Bank BID members, the scheme encourages our local community to explore South Bank and discover great places to shop, meet, eat and relax.

By providing a forum for businesses to share ideas and resources, we help members to define the future of one of the capital’s most diverse and exciting quarters.

South Bank is a hotbed of creativity and innovation. We explore and develop new initiatives to improve the experience of visitors to the area, and for businesses and employees.

A Voice for Business

A Place for Brilliant Ideas

A collective voice for South Bank

• We represent South Bank business interests to many organisations including Lambeth and Southwark Councils, the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, and the Metropolitan Police.

• A coherent approach gives weight to the collective voice of South Bank businesses and helps us to work for improvements and investment in the neighbourhood.

A platform for local initiatives

• Consultation and collaboration enable us to identify and take forward needed projects and initiatives, and to ensure support for them.

• We secure external funding for a variety of projects, augmenting the levy collected from members. We are committed to delivering value for money for South Bank BID businesses.

A passion for networking

• We organise networking events throughout the year, enabling member businesses to meet, share ideas and push for change.

• We ensure that South Bank BID businesses are networked into a wide range of neighbourhood services, and that members are aware of the benefits that they can receive.

Making connections

• South Bank BID businesses can take advantage of partnerships and initiatives that make life better for visitors, residents and employees to South Bank, such as the Riverside London App (riversidelondonapp.com) and a number of high profile media partnerships with the likes of londonist.com, WWF UK and neighbouring BIDs.

• For better business-to-business connections, we offer inclusion in our comprehensive Membership Directory on the BID website, our Member of the Month feature and regular e-newsletters covering developments affecting the area.

Keen to join our mailing list and receive the latest news from South Bank BID? Contact our team or subscribe on southbankbid.co.uk /signup

BID Delivery TeamTo minimise costs and risk, and to make the best use of existing resources and expertise, the South Bank BID does not employ staff. It delivers its programmes and projects through South Bank Employers’ Group (SBEG).

Chief Executive Nic Durston

Finance Director and Company Secretary Indranie Sookdeo

Business Operations Manager Frances Cresswell

Finance Officer Shahrukh Batty

Head of Public Realm Alex Valenzuela

Security Manager Ryan Neil

Contracts Manager Eliza Hesford

Head of Marketing Claudio Giambrone

Marketing Manager Emily Tallis

Communications Officer Caroline Conway

Communications Assistant Stephen Haigh

The BoardMembers of the BID Board are drawn from local organisations and employers. Together, the Board represents the interests of over 160 businesses within the South Bank BID area.

Anne Golden (Chair) Mondrian London, Upper Ground

David Pelly (Deputy Chair) Prospect, Leake Street

Rej Bangar Network Rail, Waterloo Station

Neelofar Khan Chilli Chutney, York Road

Theresa Maw London Marriott Hotel, County Hall

Duncan McKeich British Film Institute, Royal Festival Hall

Mark Blackhurst Doddle, Waterloo Station

Dominic Lake Canteen, Belvedere Road

Nicola Pottage OXO2, Oxo Tower Wharf

Andrew Reed Bouygues UK, York Road

Mark Wakefield IBM, Upper Ground

Michelle Wells Park Plaza County Hall, Addington Street

Local Authority Observers

Cllr Ian Wingfield Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member: Business, Employment and Culture, Southwark Council

Cllr Maria Linforth-Hall Ward Councillor Cathedrals Ward, Southwark Council

Cllr Kevin Craig Ward Councillor Bishop’s Ward, Lambeth Council

Cllr Ben Kind Ward Councillor Bishop’s Ward, Lambeth Council

Connect with usCapital Tower 91 Waterloo Road London SE1 8RT+44 (0) 207 202 6900 bid@southbanklondon.com southbankbid.co.uk

Meet the Team

A vision for South Bank

Our shared vision is of a South Bank that: is a desirable destination for culture, business and pleasure; supports and encourages investment and business growth; has a flourishing and cohesive residential community; is welcoming to visitors and tourists; is friendly, clean, colourful, safe, dynamic and diverse. The world-famous South Bank is one of London’s great success stories. In 2000, the area received three million visitors, and we now welcome more than 25 million people each year.

South Bank Employers’ Group (SBEG) was established in 1991 to coordinate and deliver many of the improvements and initiatives that have made South Bank the vibrant and exciting place that it is today. In 2013, SBEG proposed the establishment of a Business Improvement District (BID) as an additional way to engage businesses and employers in the next phase of the area’s development and growth.

Following a successful ballot of local businesses, South Bank BID was set up in late 2014. It is funded through a levy arrangement, and is governed by a Board whose members are drawn from the local business community. SBEG is the delivery agent for South Bank BID, and ensures that local services are coordinated and joined up to maximise benefits to all businesses in South Bank.

From marketing South Bank as London’s leading visitor destination to coordinating schemes that make it cleaner, safer and accessible to all, South Bank BID builds on what’s been achieved to date, and helps to deliver a range of benefits to the business community.

This documents sets out those benefits, and the services that members of the BID can expect. Together, we are working to ensure a successful and prosperous future for South Bank and for everyone who works here.

Anne Golden Mondrian London