The Derbyshire County Council Trading Committee met on Monday 20 July 2026 to review the performance of its joint ventures, Vertas Derbyshire Ltd and Concertus Derbyshire Ltd. Presentations were scheduled from both companies, detailing their activities and financial performance over the past year.

Vertas Derbyshire Ltd and Concertus Derbyshire Ltd Presentations

The meeting was scheduled to include presentations from Vertas Derbyshire Ltd (VDL) and Concertus Derbyshire Ltd (CDL), two joint ventures established by Derbyshire County Council. These presentations were intended to provide an overview of the companies' purposes, scope, and value to the Council, along with a review of their work over the preceding year.

VDL, which delivers cleaning, caretaking, and grounds maintenance services, was expected to highlight successes such as significant savings, capital investment in machinery, and the receipt of a King's Award for Enterprise. The company's financial performance, including reported profits, and efforts to reduce employee absences and explore new service areas like catering and security were also anticipated to be discussed.

Concertus Derbyshire Ltd (CDL), providing architectural, health and safety, quality assurance, and project management services, was expected to present a more challenging financial picture, with year-end accounts showing a net profit loss. The presentation was likely to detail projects and contracts undertaken, as well as foreseeable risks to the business. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and the impact of delays in capital expenditure, particularly in education, were also anticipated topics.

The report pack indicated that the Council's joint ventures were established in September 2020 with a 10+5 year term, aiming to allow the Council to concentrate on asset management rather than non-core service delivery and to benefit from private sector expertise. The Council holds a 49% shareholding in both CDL and VDL.

The report also detailed specific areas of focus for each joint venture. For CDL, this included the value of live projects, the need for increased certainty in cost management, and improvements in the quality of service at practical completion, particularly regarding the handover of essential health and safety information. For VDL, the report highlighted ongoing challenges with affordability due to property running costs not keeping pace with inflation, and the impact of increased service delivery costs. Key challenges for VDL in 2026-27 were identified as improving transparency of data, streamlining administrative processes, enhancing stakeholder satisfaction, and improving KPI reporting.

The report recommended that the Committee note and comment on the presentations regarding the activities of the joint ventures, aligning with the principle of good governance which advocates for dialogue between companies and their shareholders.