Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Global provider of procurement and support services for education and the public sector.

Welcome to Commercial Services Group

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Corporate Services

Our business strategy

CSG offices

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18-20

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8-13

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Delivering our strategy

A unique blend of brands

Professional Services Portfolio

Strategic Services Portfolio

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HR Services

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Meet our Leadership Team

Our values and how we live them…

Our employee culture

Our 2023 awards

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Part of something great!

Welcome to Commercial Services Group (CSG) We are very proud of what we are building at CSG. Now a portfolio of 25 specialist trading businesses, CSG collectively has grown to become the largest local authority-owned trading company (LATCO) in the UK, with over £700m in annual revenue and providing our wide range of services to over 16,000 customers globally.

Matt Johnson Group CEO

With services ranging from HR and recruitment to energy management, from IT and education managed services to legal support, from waste management to procurement – and a whole lot more – CSG’s 1,800 strong workforce is committed and passionate about delivering outstanding value to customers and stakeholders at every level.

We are proud of this. We are proud to drive our organisation forward through four focussed pillars – customer experience, commercial growth, social value and supporting an empowered workforce. We are proud of our heritage as a Kent County Council-owned trading business for almost 100 years. We are incredibly proud of our wonderful colleagues and the impact they have on our customers and communities. But most of all, we are proud that these efforts have a measurable impact and generate financial returns to support front line services – over £57m so far – a true example of profit with a purpose.

We hope you enjoy reading about CSG and the journey we are on.

Please come and talk to us to find out more.

Matt Johnson

Part of something great!

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Our business strategy At the heart of our business is our employees and customers. Our strategy is straightforward, yet powerful: we use our vision, mission, purpose, and business objectives to guide us towards growth and success.

Our vision To become the recognised global leader in education and public sector procurement and support services.

Our purpose To assist the education and public sectors in reducing their expenses and saving time by offering a wide range of services, supplies, and frameworks.

Our business objectives

Customer Experience

Commercial Growth

Social Value

Empowered Workforce

Helping us to achieve our vision, we incorporate them into everything we do.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Delivering our strategy Our group’s recent transformation has motivated us to aim for excellence, resulting in impressive accomplishments thanks to our team of talented, skilled, and experienced employees.

£57m

95

contributed to frontline public services through our dividend

1,800

years since first established

25

trading brands

employees

40/60

16,000

gender diversity (male/female)

customer base

12,000 suppliers

87

countries we serve

As a Group we are immensely proud of the service, support and financial contribution we provide to support front line services, a genuine example of profit with a purpose.

Philip Dearing, Chair of the Board of Directors

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A unique blend of brands makes for something special CSG is the largest Local Authority owned trading organisation in the UK. Established over 95 years ago as the supplies division of Kent County Council, we have since grown to become a leading provider of products and services to the education and public sector. With over 16,000 customers globally.

HR Services Integrated HR Solutions

CSG is the umbrella for our 25 trading brands; the proud parent. It centrally provides the support, dependability and security to allow each brand to be great in their own right. CSG is agile, strong, global, and our people are capable of doing great things.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Professional Services Portfolio IT Solutions

Legal Services

Education Services

Global Education Supplies

Strategic Services Portfolio Energy & Carbon

Procurement

Recruitment – Managed Services

Specialist Recruitment

Community Services

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Professional Services Portfolio Our Professional Services Portfolio is designed to deliver quality, reliability, and value, even in uncertain times. Offering a range of IT, legal, and educational services to support local authorities and educational establishments.

IT Solutions cantium.solutions

Cantium Business Solutions is a specialist provider of managed ICT services.

We partner with UK local government, education, and private sectors to understand their business needs and challenges and provide tailored solutions. We focus on insight and collaboration with organisations to enhance their key business priorities such as IT strategy and architecture, project management and fully managed IT services. Whilst driving social value through initiatives such as digital inclusion and transformation.

Education Services theeducationpeople.org

The Education People are a one-stop shop for education services, supporting the full age range from early years to young adults.

Our mission is to support early years and childcare settings, schools and colleges to improve learning, wellbeing and children’s development in Kent and beyond. Services include: early years and childcare, financial management, governance and clerking services, outdoor learning and specialist employment. We are one of the largest and most successful providers of school improvement support in the UK.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Legal Services invicta.law

Invicta Law is one of the largest UK firms practicing family law, with a specialty in Child Protection and Community Care.

We have extensive expertise in securing the right outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in society, including a recent increase in work supporting unaccompanied asylum seekers. Invicta Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Global Education Services kcs.co.uk

KCS Education is expert in sourcing, managing and creating the products and services required to run nurseries, schools and public sector organisations in the UK, with thousands of customers nationwide.

We are committed to delivering outstanding customer service, with a team of over 100 specialists who work with their customers from finding the right products, answering product queries to arranging special deliveries and providing general product advice and support.

cesholdings.co.uk

CES Holdings provides a one-stop shop for the supply of educational resources to international schools worldwide. CES is based in Manchester and has offices in both Dubai and Bangkok.

Working with suppliers and publishers from the UK, USA, Europe and Australia we offer our customers an unparalleled selection of books, classroom equipment, classroom resources and furniture all available from a single source.

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Strategic Services Portfolio Our Strategic Services portfolio is designed to provide support to the public sector with our well-established expertise in energy & carbon, procurement, recruitment and our core community and environmental services.

Procurement procurementservices.co.uk

KCS Procurement Services is a leader in providing frameworks and services to the public sector across the UK. Our team of experts in compliant frameworks, help public sector organisations procure products and services in a time and cost efficient manner.

lifecycle.co.uk

Lifecycle Management Group helps clients deliver value for money, innovating to deliver fresh approaches to contract management.

For 30 years, we have helped the NHS get more for less from their contract-related spend and assisted universities to drive whole-life value from their contracts.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Energy & Carbon laserenergy.org.uk

LASER was established in 1989 with a vision to help the public sector achieve the energy cost reductions made possible by newly deregulated gas and electricity markets.

We have grown significantly to deliver a broad range of energy and carbon reduction services.

We are one of the largest energy buying organisations in Europe, purchasing over £500m of energy per annum and serving over 200 public sector customers.

luminaenergy.co.uk

Commercial Services Group founded Lumina Energy in 2012 to help local private sector businesses reduce their energy spend, through effective procurement.

By harnessing extensive sector experience, leveraging supplier relationships and developing a focus on customer experience we have successfully grown to become an energy consultancy that works across the UK helping thousands of customers reduce their energy spend.

bit.ly/LASER-ZCF

LASER and Lumina are supporting their customers to achieve decarbonisation goals under our Zero Carbon Future offering.

• Reviewing customers current carbon footprint and building a road map for them to reach net zero emissions by their target date.

• Reducing customers carbon footprint through the procurement and project management of energy efficiency and carbon reduction initiatives.

• Replacing customers energy supply with renewable energy and low carbon sources.

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Managed Services Joint Ventures Our recruitment joint venture model benefits public sector partners by saving money and improving service quality. We currently partner with councils in Kent, Hampshire, Luton, Surrey, and Dudley, and have more opportunities in the pipeline.

Recruitment – Managed Services connect2kent.co.uk

Connect2Kent is the in-house managed service provider to Kent County Council.

We have a deep understanding of our shareholder’s organisation which has enabled us to build a relevant and extensive talent pool of specialist candidates they can call upon to provide dedicated recruitment services and a skilled workforce for temporary, contract, fixed price and permanent work.

connect2hampshire.co.uk

Connect2Hampshire was created after a thorough analysis of the external job market and potential internal services.

Our team is located in Basingstoke and offers easy access to candidates and hiring managers in the area. We have effectively partnered with 135 local and national agency providers to assist with filling positions using their own pool of talented candidates.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

connect2luton.co.uk

Successfully mobilised during the first wave of the pandemic, Connect2Luton went live in August 2020.

We operate as an employment business, attracting and retaining high quality workers, delivering enhanced retention within hard to fill roles such as Children’s Social Care and Planning.

connect2surrey.co.uk

Connect2Surrey launched in February 2022. We are proud to help support the council by helping make Surrey a uniquely special place where everyone has a great start in life.

As part of the 2030 Community Vision for Surrey we are ensuring ‘everyone benefits from education, skills and employment opportunities that help them succeed in life’.

connect2dudley.co.uk

Connect2Dudley is our newest managed service, launched in 2022.

Dudley Council is committed to making sure local people receive the best possible public services, improving the quality of life for everyone.

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Specialist Recruitment connect2staff.co.uk

Connect2Staff’s specialist recruitment team have significant commercial expertise and this allows us to develop lasting relationships with the best talent in the market.

Whether our clients need to find someone for a permanent role, short term contract or interim assignment we have the skills, experience, and tenacity to find the right person.

connect2staff.co.uk

Connect2Socialwork has a dedicated team who specialise in helping the public sector find and hire locum and permanent social workers.

Our specialist team works closely with the Commercial Services Interim & Executive Search Practice to deliver recruitment services to more than 160 local authorities and global charities.

We support roles of all levels across all services including children, adults, and mental health.

csg-executive.co.uk

Established in 2018, our Recruitment division has gone on to support over 60 Local Authorities and a range of wider public sector clients with sourcing and onboarding strategies to unlock hard to find talent.

At CSG Recruitment we pride ourselves on providing our clients with an honest, dynamic consultative recruitment service for Interim Recruitment and Executive Search.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Community Services landscapeservices.co.uk

Landscape Services specialise in planning, developing, and managing grounds maintenance projects for Local Authorities, Housing Associations, schools, sports facilities, national parks, and private landowners.

Our team of over 70 employees deliver services throughout the South East of England; from hard and soft landscaping or planting to tree works and playground inspections.

bit.ly/CSG-ManagingWaste

Our Managing Waste team provides the day-to-day management of household waste recycling centers and waste transfer stations.

Supporting five sites in Kent – Maidstone, Dartford and Swanley are household waste recycling centres, whilst Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells have an additional waste transfer station.

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HR Services Our HR Services are truly people-focused, and our five specialist brands HR Connect, EmploymentCheck, Staff Care Services, KentTeach and Prospects Payroll deliver fully compliant and trusted high-quality services to the Education and Public Sectors.

Specialist HR Services hrconnect.org.uk

HR Connect offers an integrated HR solution, encompassing payroll, HR administration, pensions, and HR Advisory.

Our team partners with organisations to provide strategic HR support. Working with over 1,000 customers nationwide, including schools, academies, Multi-Academy Trusts, Local Authority and NHS Trusts. By taking time to get to know the specifics of an organisation, our team recognise potential issues and offer practical solutions to prevent these.

employmentcheck.org.uk

Our HR Connect EmploymentCheck system provides you with a fully hosted ISO 27001 compliant online Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) solution giving you more control over your disclosures. Available 24/7, you can have a flexible and versatile approach to initiating and managing your checks.

With intelligent validation and automated certified results, you can process enhanced, standard and basic DBS checks quickly, accurately and securely. For roles in Scotland, we can assist with the completion of Disclosure Scotland Basic Checks too. Our extensive experience of DBS legislation means we can provide you with guidance on eligibility or ID verification.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

staffcareservices.org.uk

Staff Care Services were established over 25 years ago to deliver Occupational Health and Wellbeing support to Public, Education, Health and Private Sectors.

Our team of professionals include clinicians, consultants, trainers and counsellors who draw from extensive experience working with hundreds of organisations, ranging from small primary schools to complex Academy Trusts, Local Authorities and NHS trusts; each with their own unique requirements.

prospectspayroll.co.uk

Prospects Payroll provides a professional and supportive online payroll service to schools, academies and MATs accessed via a secure web portal.

We have a team of skilled professionals in payroll and finance who handle our payroll services.

We collaborate effectively to achieve customer satisfaction and enhance efficiencies and improvements. We are committed to providing the best service to our customers.

Recruitment in Education kent-teach.com

Kent-Teach was founded in 2000 to deliver a cost-effective recruitment advertising solution to schools across Kent and the surrounding areas.

Working with 95% of Kent schools and by utilising an audience of 170,000 members, the site receives over 2 million visits each year. We are the established market leader in Kent for Education vacancies, supporting customers to fill their vacancies with talented staff members.

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Corporate Services Our Group strives for excellence in everything we do and we know that we need outstanding support to achieve this.

The Corporate Services team delivers high-quality services to all our businesses and helps them stand out in their respective markets. We have a centralised expertise and streamlined shared service that can cater to the needs of the CSG's companies and brands.

Governance & Strategy

Business Improvement

HR Services

Digital & Data

Technology

Business Experience

Finance

Collaboration & Engagement

PR & Comms

Group accreditations and certification Being compliant with high standards underpins our group, giving our customers and suppliers the confidence in our goods, services, management systems and people.

We’re proud of our achievements and recognition. Whether it’s for our whole Group or just one of our brands, we have the credentials to back up our quality and standards. To learn more visit our website.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

CSG offices

CSG Head Office 1 Abbey Wood Road Kings Hill, West Malling Kent ME19 4YT Cantium Business Solutions Connect2Kent Connect2Socialwork CSG Managing Waste HR Connect Interim & Executive Search Invicta Law Landscape Services LASER Energy Lumina Energy Zero Carbon Future Bowerhouse (Energy) Havage Drove Weston-Super-Mare Somerset BS24 6UA KCS Unit 1, New Hythe Lane Aylesford, Kent ME20 7FE KCS Education KCS Procurement Services

CES Holdings – Manchester Shepley Estate (South) Manchester, M34 5EX CES Holdings – Dubai 507 HDS Tower, JLT, Dubai United Arab Emirates CES Holdings – Bangkok Unit 11A, 11th Floor, Piya Place Langsuan Building 29/1 Soi Langsuan Ploenchit Road, Lumpini Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 KCS Education (Midlands) Lake View Drive Sherwood Park, Nottingham, NG15 0DT Connect2Dudley 3-5 St James’s Road Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1HZ Connect2Hampshire Dame Mary Fagan House Lutyens Close, Lychpit Basingstoke, RG24 8AG

Connect2Luton 44-48 Gordon Street Suite 1, 2nd Floor Clemitson House Luton, LU1 2QP Connect2Surrey Woodhatch Place Cockshot Hill Reigate, RH2 8AN The Education People Room G73, Sessions House Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ Lifecycle Management Group Ltd Unipart House, Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX4 2PG Prospectus Payroll Broadwell Road Oldbury, Birmingham B69 4BY

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Meet our Leadership Team Executive Board

Matt Johnson Group CEO

John Doherty Divisional CEO Professional Services

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Nicola Monk Divisional CEO Strategic Services

Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Gill Nye Group HR Director

Rob Boyles

Group Chief Financial Officer

Sally Richards Group Chief Operating Officer

Meet our Executive Board Matt joined CSG in 2018 as Director of KCS, before becoming CEO in 2021, and Group CEO in 2022.

Matt Johnson Group CEO

His role is to deliver shareholder value through creating and delivering a growth-based, strategic business plan driven by social value, commercial growth, an empowered workforce to ensure an outstanding customer experience.

Gill was appointed Group HR Director in 2022.

Gill Nye

Group HR Director

John joined CSG in 2022 as the Divisional CEO for Professional Services.

John Doherty Divisional CEO Professional Services

John is a Chartered Accountant by trade, he has extensive experience having previously held posts as Managing Director and CEO. His role at CSG is to deliver ambitious business plans across Cantium, Invicta Law, The Education People, KCS and CES businesses.

Rob joined CSG in April 2023 as Group Chief Financial Officer.

Rob Boyles

Group Chief Financial Officer

Nicola joined CSG in April 2023 as Divisional CEO for Strategic Services.

Nicola Monk

Divisional CEO Strategic Services

Nicola is an experienced public sector leader, primarily with Luton Borough Council where she progressed to Corporate Director of Inclusive Economy.

Nicola’s role at CSG is to deliver outstanding growth across our recruitment, procurement, community services and energy & carbon divisions.

Gill is an experienced HR leader with a strong commercial focus and proven track record. She is responsible for both the HR Connect trading businesses as well as the strategic planning and execution of internal HR shared services that support all CSG brands and support functions.

Rob has 30 years experience as a Chartered Accountant and has enjoyed a successful career holding various Finance Director, COO and Interim CEO positions.

Rob’s role is to ensure finance and commercial functions support the divisions to deliver excellent service, growth and governance.

Sally joined CSG in 2015 and held Director-level roles with KCS and Community Services, before becoming Group Chief Operating Officer in 2021.

Sally Richards Group Chief Operating Officer

Sally has a wealth of experience in operational and transformation roles and supports the Group in areas such as Governance, Business Improvement, Digital & Data Finance, HR and Technology.

Part of something great!

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Meet our Non-Executive Directors Our Non-Executive Board Members bring valuable insights, expertise and perspectives to our strategic decisions and governance processes.

Non-Executive Board

Philip Dearing Independent Non-Executive Chairman

Laura Bayford Independent Non-Executive Director

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Ceri Richards Independent Non-Executive Director

Robin Dargue

Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Independent Non-Executive Director

David Whittle Shareholder Non-Executive Director

Simon Pleace Shareholder Non-Executive Director

Our values and how we live them…

We have four values that were created by our employees for our employees. These values aim to support our vision, shape our culture and reflect the group’s philosophy.

We have adopted these values into everything we do.

Everyone is valued.

We look out for each other.

We enjoy doing a good job together.

We’re inspired to speak, everyone’s voice matters.

Make a difference.

We do the right thing on a difficult day.

We are building on our legacy for success.

We are making a difference for tomorrow.

Give our best.

We are empowered to give our best every day.

We are accountable for what we do.

We challenge in pursuit of improvement.

Freedom to thrive.

Leading the way with creative and adaptive thinking.

We are curious and passionate.

We have freedom to innovate to thrive.

CSG is proud to have achieved the Investors in People – Silver accreditation in 2023. Gaining this accreditation shows our investment and commitment to making work better for all our employees.

We’d like to congratulate CSG. Silver accreditation is a remarkable effort for any organisation, and places CSG in fine company with a host of organisations that understand the value of people. (Only 15% of organisations achieve silver accreditation).

Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People Part of something great!

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Our employee culture At CSG we feel our group culture is built and reinforced by our employees. From the welcome meetings at the start of their careers to achieving their goals, we value them and care about their wellbeing. We support all employees and encourage them to develop and progress. Here are a few highlights.

Our Wellbeing Group exists to support our employees and provide them with valuable resources to improve their wellbeing.

Many factors impact on wellbeing, the four pillars – mental, physical, financial, and social health contribute to how we feel, our resilience levels and our ability to cope with daily life.

As part of our social value business objective – giving back to the local community is important to us. We have several Social Value Champions and encourage our employees to get involved with projects by supporting the community and local businesses.

Pictured left is one of our volunteers.

Ellis Parsons

Head of Marketing (Recruitment Division)

CSG Awards

Our annual awards evening has proved very popular. A mixture of celebrating success and achievement and enjoying spending time with our colleagues and having a bit of fun.

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Welcome to Commercial Services Group

I feel blessed to work with the most amazing colleagues at CSG and in Recruitment. The support I have been shown over the years is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, I have never felt as valued, supported and appreciated by an organisation and my colleagues.

Our 2023 awards We take great pride in our accomplishments and the recognition we've received for them.

Recruiter Awards Most Effective Back Office Operation

PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards GOLD Award

Connect2Hampshire

PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards Best Partnership/Collaboration

Connect2Luton

Connect2Luton

SHORTLISTED

SHORTLISTED

WINNER

WINNER

APSCo OutSource Awards for Excellence MSP of the Year

LGC Workforce Best Innovation in Recruitment

The Nachural Summer Business Awards New Start-Up Team

Go Awards 2023 Best Net Zero Initiative Award

CSG Recruitment Division

Connect2Hampshire

Recruiter Awards Best Client Service

CSG Recruitment Division

LASER

Connect2Dudley

SHORTLISTED

SHORTLISTED

FINALIST

HIGHLY COMMENDED

APSE Service Awards 2023 Best Collaborative Working Initiative

Specialist Employment Supported Employment Quality Framework Audit from BASE

Make a Difference Awards Champions Network Awards

CIPP Annual Excellence Awards In-house payroll team of the year HR Connect

KCS Procurement Services

The Education People

Commercial Services Group MHFA Peer Support Network

FINALIST

EXCELLENT

FINALIST

SHORTLISTED

CIPP Annual Excellence Awards The CIPP Luminary Award Jenny Yee – HR Connect

CIPP Annual Excellence Awards Service Provider of the Year HR Connect

CIPP Annual Excellence Awards CIPP Spotlight Award Justina Bacon – HR Connect

CIPP Annual Excellence Awards Project of the Year HR Connect

SHORTLISTED

SHORTLISTED

SHORTLISTED

SHORTLISTED

British Recruitment Awards Public/Third Sector Recruitment Agency of the Year

British Recruitment Awards Leader of the Year (Agency)

CSG Recruitment Division

CSG Recruitment Division

SHORTLISTED*

SHORTLISTED*

Helen Archer-Lock

*Award ceremony hasn't taken place yet.

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Part of something great!

At CSG we want to engage and retain our employees with the right rewards and benefits. Employees love receiving benefits which help motivate and improve their wellbeing.

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25 days holiday

Day off for y our birthday

Life assurance cover

Team and company events

Company Pension

Flexible first, h ybrid working

Progression and development culture

Shopping discounts and retailer offers

eLearning portal

Employee assistance programme

Refer a friend scheme

Health and wellbeing platform

Health cash plan initiative

Discounted gym membership

Volunteer days

Welcome to Commercial Services Group

Part of something great!

Working together to be recognised as the global leader in education and public sector procurement and support services.

Commercial Services Group Head Office, 1 Abbey Wood Road, Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4YT 0808 168 5808

info@csltd.org.uk Visit our website