Mitie Catering is a hospitality and event catering service provider in the UK and Ireland that employs over 3,600 people in over 330 sites. The deal brings an increase in turnover of £137 million to CH&CO.
Gather & Gather will now be part of a company that solely focuses on food and beverages, whilst continuing to provide catering services to Miete’s Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) clients. CH&CO has a range of clients across multiple sectors including destinations, venues, education, livery and healthcare.
Bill Toner, chief executive officer at CH&CO, said: “This acquisition is a key part of our growth strategy and represents a great opportunity for Mitie, Gather & Gather and CH&CO. We are very excited about the future growth potential for our business in our strategic partnership with Mitie – we bring scale and catering expertise.
“Mitie brings an extensive client list and innovation, and we both have a reputation for great customer service. The sharing of best practice will drive an even better service for our clients, and the enlarged CH&CO group creates unparalleled opportunities for growth.
“We also welcome a significant number of new clients to our family and we’ve gained a footprint in Ireland. It’s very much business as usual for all parties involved; the Gather & Gather name will be maintained, and clients will still deal with the same people as they do today.”
As part of the deal, Allister Richards will continue his role as the managing director of Gather & Gather. Catering will remain an important part of Mitie’s services but will now be provided to clients under an ‘exclusive strategic partnership agreement’ with Gather & Gather and CH&CO rather than self-delivered by Mitie.
Richards added: “It has been a great pleasure to build this business over the last seven years and I’m so proud that our committed team now delivers exceptional food and drink to more than 250,000 customers daily across workplaces, historic venues and large outdoor events.
“In CH&CO, we have found our business a home where we can build on our success and continue to thrive in new and existing markets. We are delighted to be joining their team.”