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Delivering corporate Touch to Balfour Beatty
England Touch recently supported the Balfour Beatty Touch Rugby Challenge for the fifth time. Balfour Beatty Communications and Submissions Manager, Simon Mortimer, gives some background.
Supporting company events
England Touch has become an important delivery partner in recent years, supporting the Balfour Beatty Touch Rugby Challenge by providing referees, match management and a structured sporting framework.
They have also supported the event by helping to identify suitable venues and offering advice and insight to support its continued development.
More recently, England Touch have provided guidance on the use of tournament apps, which were introduced this year, and supported by inputting match results on the day — further enhancing the overall delivery and participant experience.
Their involvement has helped elevate an already successful and established event, strengthening both the experience and overall reputation of the tournament through improved match delivery and organisation.
Why we chose Touch Rugby
The Touch Rugby Challenge began in 2018 as an internally led initiative while working on the Heathrow Framework, with the aim of bringing together delivery partners and fellow Delivery Integrators in an inclusive way to raise money for charity.
The first event featured 12 teams and raised just over £5,000, demonstrating early on the strength of the concept. This was followed by further events in 2019, including a Rugby World Cup-aligned tournament which raised over £16,000.
Touch rugby proved to be the ideal format due to its accessibility, inclusivity and ease of participation, enabling people of all abilities and backgrounds to get involved.
What we get out of it as a company
For Balfour Beatty, the Touch Rugby Challenge delivers clear business and cultural value. It has become a proven platform for strengthening relationships, engaging our supply chain and promoting our organisational values.
The event provides:
- Stronger client and supply chain relationships
Bringing teams together in an informal setting helps build trust, improve collaboration and strengthen long-term working relationships across projects and frameworks. - Meaningful industry engagement
The event creates a unique opportunity to engage a wide range of partners in one place, creating connections that would not normally happen in day-to-day project environments. - A high-impact fundraising platform
The tournament has supported 22 charities and raised over £113,000 to date, enabling us to deliver tangible social value alongside our core business activities. - A visible commitment to wellbeing and inclusion
The event reinforces our focus on health, wellbeing and inclusion, providing a positive, active environment that aligns with our people strategy. - A flagship engagement event
Over time, the Touch Rugby Challenge has grown into a recognised and anticipated event within our network, enhancing Balfour Beatty’s reputation for collaboration, innovation and community engagement.
What our staff and supply chain get out of it
The success of the Touch Rugby Challenge is driven by its inclusive and collaborative nature. Since it began:
- Over 55 companies have taken part
- More than 1,800 participants have been involved
- Events have been delivered across six different venues
Teams are made up of employees, clients and supply chain partners, creating a unique environment that brings people together outside of the usual working setting.
Participants benefit from:
- Building relationships and strengthening networks
- Developing camaraderie and team cohesion
- Engaging in a fun, inclusive and multi-gender sport
- Supporting charitable causes
- Improving physical and mental wellbeing through sport
Why we would recommend England Touch and Touch Rugby
The Touch Rugby Challenge has evolved significantly since it began in 2018, growing from a small Heathrow-based initiative with 12 teams into a large-scale, multi-company event delivered across a number of venues and engaging over 1,800 participants.
As the event developed, we continued to refine the format and explore ways to enhance the overall experience. Following the 2021 tournament at Maidenhead Rugby Club, where we first met Sammie Phillips, we began discussions with England Touch around how they could support future events.
Bringing England Touch on board was a natural next step in that journey. Having already established a successful and scalable model, their involvement has helped strengthen the event further, enhancing its reputation and improving consistency in delivery, particularly through structured match management and professional refereeing.
We would strongly recommend both England Touch and touch rugby as a format for corporate events. Sport is an excellent platform for bringing people together, building relationships and creating a sense of camaraderie outside of the working environment.
Touch Rugby in particular offers:
- Inclusive participation across all genders and abilities
- Strong engagement in a relaxed, informal environment
- Clear benefits for physical health and mental wellbeing
- A flexible format that can scale from small events to large, multi-team tournaments
Combined with the expertise of England Touch, this creates a highly effective model for delivering engaging, inclusive and impactful events that benefit both organisations and the wider industry.
If your company would like to use Touch Rugby as your sport of choice then email Angus King, Pathways & Participation Officer, via angus.king@englandtouch.org.uk
