Simon Bailey appointed as new Managing Director of Serco Leisure

Serco is delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Bailey as the new Managing Director of its leisure business, Serco Leisure.

Simon Bailey has held a number of senior leadership positions in Serco over the last nine years. Starting in the transport business, he moved on to the health division in 2012, where he was most recently responsible for a portfolio of facilities management contracts across the UK, with annual revenues of around £75m and around 1,500 staff.

He started his career in transport with London Underground, before moving on to Virgin Trains in 1998, where he held a variety of roles, including customer service director, and bid director. While at Virgin, he led rail franchise bids worth in excess of £3 billion.

Simon Bailey has a degree in Geography from the London Metropolitan University, a Masters in Transport Planning & Engineering from the University of Leeds, and a Diploma in Management Studies from the University of Westminster.

Kevin Craven, Chief Executive of Serco’s UK & Europe business, said:

“Simon Bailey has demonstrated considerable leadership expertise during his nine years at Serco and across a number of the different sectors in which Serco operates. Our Leisure business has considerable capabilities, managing over 50 leisure facilities across the UK including four National Sports Centres, and I look forward to the next stage of its development under Simon’s leadership.”

Simon Bailey said:

“I’m looking forward to the opportunities this new role brings and working with the different teams across Serco’s Leisure business. Serco Leisure has room for growth and the plans I’ve seen for 2019 show a business with real ambition to seek out new areas of operation, while continuing to focus on the core work we do so well.

“Cycle hire is an area I’m hugely excited about: Serco is the leading operator in the UK. Working with Transport for London, we’ve seen another record year in terms of rider numbers for its Santander cycles, while in Edinburgh working with Transport for Edinburgh, and launching less than six months ago, our scheme is already proving popular with both city visitors and residents.

”Serco Leisure operates over 50 leisure facilities across the UK, employing over 3,000 staff. Facilities managed by the company include the National Sports Centres, Bisham Abbey, Lillieshall, Stoke Mandeville Stadium, and the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont Country Park.

Serco has operated the London Cycle Hire Scheme on behalf of TfL since its inception in 2010. It also operates the Edinburgh Cycle Hire Scheme, on behalf of TfE, which launched in September 2018.

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