The 2012 London Olympics "left a healthy sheen on Britain’s psyche," but it is "less clear whether British business benefited," according to Burgess & Robinson of the FINANCIAL TIMES. As much as £5.9B ($9.2B) came from business deals brokered during the Games at the British Business Embassy. However, companies themselves "reported more mixed results." There were "outright winners." Chime Communications’ sports marketing arm "won a lucrative contract" for the 2014 Sochi Olympics "on the back of work done for the London Games." There were "obvious losers, too." A year ago, security firm G4S "was tipped to benefit hugely, until it failed to supply the number of security staff for the Games that had been contracted." The "deluge of extra tourists in London failed to materialise." The number of visitors to Britain "actually declined during and after the Games," with a 4% drop in overseas visits in the three months to Sept. 3. InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Richard Solomon said that while the hotel sector in London "enjoyed a short-term boost," the government "failed to make the most of a potential boost to British tourism." Solomon: "[The short term boost] has not been supported by government actions in terms of supporting tourism and making it easy to come to the country" (FT, 8/19).
