Are you winning millions? Hundreds of UK businesses are winning millions of pounds of work as a result of the preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but are Suffolk businesses seeing a share of the money?

To date 801 companies that have already won over £3.5bn work worth. Of this, 68% are classed as small and medium businesses. Small and medium sized businesses are well placed to benefit through the current difficult economic climate as thousands of 2012 Games contracts come on track over the next three to four years.

Suffolk County Council is encouraging all businesses in Suffolk to register with 'CompeteFor' and view the opportunities advertised. Speaking on this opportunity for Suffolk businesses, Lisa Chambers, Portfolio Holder for Economic and Cultural Development at Suffolk County Council, said "The current figures speak for themselves. They show that businesses of all sizes, from across all regions of the UK, are already winning millions of London 2012 Games work. I want to encourage more Suffolk businesses to be part of these opportunities coming from the 2012 games. "

However, Councillor Chamber's comments come at a time when there are growing concerns that Suffolk businesses may be missing out on the opportunities presented by 2012. According to the latest figures just 10% of the companies from the East of England to register to hear about Games related contract opportunities have been from Suffolk. This is despite Suffolk accounting for 12.5% of the business stock in the East of England. Commenting on this Councillor Chambers added: "I would urge Suffolk businesses to visit the CompeteFor website (www.competefor.com) if they are interested in winning any 2012 related contracts. There is such a diverse range of contacts available to all businesses in Suffolk. From when the Games begin, uniforms for at least 70,000 volunteers, branded T-shirts, and hundreds of other items of merchandise will be needed, as will thousands of computers, phones, televisions, and the latest technology to wire the Games to the world. We do not want to miss out on bringing money into the county. As all procurement for 2012 will be done electronically, if businesses don't register their interest they will miss out. "

There are many reasons why Suffolk businesses should register their details with CompeteFor. Once a company has their business profile on the system they are automatically tested against a small number of minimum standards. If these requirements are not met they will be given focused business support to make them 'business ready' for opportunities up to and beyond the London 2012 Games. The process of competing for contracts is simple too. Once a company's profile is successfully published on CompeteFor they are automatically matched to opportunities which suit their business and are invited, by email, to apply for them. Also throughout the process local business support agencies are on hand to help companies maximise their chances of success.