COMPANIES in Bolton should plan now to cash in on the mult-million pound Olympic boom according to business leaders.

Paul Norris, President of the Greater Manchester Chamber in Bolton, said they should use their experienced of the 2002 Commonwealth Games to get a head start when the Olympic procurement process starts.

Mr Norris, the head of PNC Business Development Consultants on Bridgeman Place, Bolton, said: "There is not a single aspect of the games which is not covered by a Bolton companys product or service.

"There were a lot of Bolton firms involved in the Commonwealth Games, and they should use that invaluable experience to give themselves a head start."

He was speaking after a visit to Bolton by Lord Coe, who was the leader of London Olympics bid.

Lord Coe told an audience of 100 business guests at the Ramada Hotel in Blackrod on Friday, that there would be more than 300 contracts available.

He said that services such as catering, accommodation and infrastructure would be dealt with by his own team, while construction contracts would be handled by the Olympic Delivery Authority, which would be set up in the next three to four months.

Mr Norris said: "All sectors in Bolton, from service deliverers to manufacturers, can benefit from what is on offer, but it is imperative that they start preparing now."

Last week, Olympics minster and culture secretary Tessa Jowell launched a campaign aimed at preventing the economic bounty from the 2012 games being hogged by companies based in London or abroad.

She told more than 250 delegates at a "2012 business summit" that she wanted to "recruit" regional businesses to fight for a slice of the £3.3 billion state spend on the games.

Ideas being canvassed include entire pre-fabricated venues being built outside London, then transported and assembled on site.

Mr Norris added: "We have a manufactuer here who is a world leader in prefabricated steel structures and helped with the Millennium Dome.

"That is exactly the sort of head start I am talking about."