Caterer Charlton House wins Royal College of Surgeons of England contract

The independent caterers took over from the incumbents, Fare Catering, on 4th January. The historic building houses the governing and administrative functions of the College, which employs 280 staff. Users of the facilities include its large membership base and affiliated associations who have access to facilities such as the 34 bedrooms, a lounge bar, a breakfast room, a library and meeting rooms. Further commercial use is made of the facilities by letting rooms to external organisations for conferencing and banqueting events. A team of 19 Charlton House staff handles the catering operation which includes managing the on-site staff restaurant (which is also open to the public), a bar, hotel, banqueting and conferencing services. Ben Mann, business development manager for Charlton House, said:" This prestigious new contract gain has it all; a superb location, reasonably priced central London accommodation and wonderfully unique spaces for hosting events. "The College is currently undertaking a phased refurbishment plan to provide new rooms for educational purposes (teaching surgeons) on the upper levels of the building. This will free up the older style rooms on the lower levels of the building for external bookings. We will be using our experience of venue hire and event management to build further potential business for the College."