The brief

C.Co recently delivered a bespoke training package to Rugby Borough Council, to support Board members of the Caldecott Group to ensure their familiarity with business plan reviews.

Caldecott Developments Limited (CDL) is a company within Rugby Borough Council’s trading structure. It is a development delivery vehicle to enable Rugby Borough Council to deliver on its overall strategic vision. The aim of CDL is to help deliver new housing at pace and scale, to facilitate the development of property and land, while achieving financial returns for the shareholders and securing economic, social and environmental well-being within the administrative area of the council.

Being on the Board of a commercial organisation is a role that comes with significant responsibility; being on a LATCO (Local Authority Trading Company) Board has additional complexities, given the public funding model. The situation was made even more complex for the Caldecott Group Board as it consists of both elected Members and Senior Officers of Rugby Borough Council as well as JV partners.

Being a Board Director of a local authority-controlled company is complex and requires a completely different legal and philosophical framework to when operating inside the council. This includes ensuring the most positive outcomes are delivered for the company whilst also acting in the best interests of their council. For these reasons, thorough training of anyone new to a LATCO Board is considered by C.Co to be extremely beneficial and good practice.

The approach

C.Co hosted a two-hour bespoke training session with the Board Members. This training was delivered virtually, with full content informed by an in-depth analysis of the draft business plan, and the session was specifically tailored to meet that context.

Our team was well placed to provide this support, as we have significant expertise in:

  • Working with LATCOs
  • Developing Business Cases and Business Plans for LATCOs
  • Board Effectiveness Reviews
  • Governance Health-checks
  • Delivering training and development.
The outcome

The training session covered:

  • In-depth discussion on the role and responsibilities of the Board Members
  • The purpose of a business plan
  • Operational, tactical and strategic requirements
  • Financial analysis
  • Market and sector analysis
  • Performance targets and management

C.Co is experienced at supporting organisations to develop commercially, as well as undertaking evidence-driven reviews and determining the optimum direction for services to maximise outcomes, quality, productivity and value for money. Contact our team of professionals to see how we can work with you.

 

‘Thank you so much for being so flexible and turning this around at such short notice. There was lots of engagement and questions and attendees felt the training was “first class”. I’m sure I’ll be in touch for the next instalment!’

Elaine McGladdery, Learning and Development Business Partner, Rugby Borough Council