Member: Norse Group Ltd

Norse Group is one of the largest employers in Norfolk. Wholly owned by Norfolk Council, the group comprises:

• Norse Commercial Services – environmental, highways and FM services
• Norse Consulting Group – professional property services, including architecture, design and estate management
• NorseCare – Residential and specialist dementia care homes throughout Norfolk

The group exports services to other parts of the UK, and has twenty-one joint venture partnerships with local authorities from Devon to Leeds. With a turnover of around £350 million, we provide employment for almost 9,500 people. Our head office in Norwich supports over 400 jobs, and overall we contribute over £200 million to the Norfolk economy.

Although the group is a highly commercial enterprise, our ownership means that we have a deeply-ingrained public service ethos, and social value is of paramount importance to us. Our mantra is “improving people’s lives”, and we pride ourselves on looking beyond the bottom line to doing all we can for our employees, suppliers, clients and the wider community.

Why are Norse Group Gold Patrons and why is it important for them to support the Norfolk Community. “Norse Group is a highly unusual company – it is wholly owned by Norfolk County Council, and is the UK’s largest and most successful local authority trading company, with a turnover of £350 million and a workforce of more than 9,000 people. With deep roots in the public sector, Norse has a greater responsibility than the private sector to deliver social value and maintain a public service ethos. As part of this, we believe that supporting the local business community – especially SMEs and up-and-coming companies – is extremely important. Norfolk has a great track record in producing successful companies, and we want this to continue, generating high-quality jobs and providing benefits to the wider community. Our decision to become patrons of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce stems largely from this desire to help businesses in Norfolk to succeed and grow. The Chamber plays an important role in providing services to smaller companies, and by providing support – financial and otherwise – we can help it fulfil this. We also feel that being a gold patron helps us achieve local recognition, positioned alongside the other major employers in the county; this is important to our shareholder (the county council) as it reflects their own support for the community; and our Norfolk-based staff also appreciate this brand awareness, and the knowledge that we are a force for good.” Geoff Tucker, Group Business Development Director