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Contract caterer CH&Co reports 18% rise in sales

30th Sep 2014 - 10:20
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Tim Jones, chairman CH&Co, contract catering, £111m revenue
Abstract
Independent catering group CH&Co has announced an 18% rise in turnover to £111m for the year ended March 31st 2014, comfortably surpassing its forecast that it would generate £100m in sales for the first time.

Chairman Tim Jones said growth had come from the continued development of six differentiated brands meeting customer needs across the business and industry (B&I) and commercial foodservice market segments.

“This is a highly encouraging performance. We look forward to the coming year and moving our turnover towards the predicted £170m figure by 2017/18 as we outlined in our five year plan two years’ ago.

“Stuart [Lawson, group chief executive] and his team will focus on consolidating our fantastic wins in B&I and commercial, further developing our operating model and integrating the Apostrophe business in a way that will help it realise its potential.”

A series of large contract wins and the full year benefit of contracts opened in the prior year drove the majority of this increase in turnover.

Specifically there were 12 new contract wins in (B&I) and in general these were larger in scale than the CH&Co average and brought with them operations at 34 locations.

The commercial side of the business enjoyed a year of consolidation after the significant growth in the previous two years with contracts – such as Historic Royal Palaces and ZSL London Zoo – and added three contracts.

Since the year end the company has won a number of new contracts and seen renewal or expansion of existing contracts that will impact future income, this includes a significant B&I contract with Centrica British Gas.

Lawson added: “These figures demonstrate both the strength of our brands and their customer propositions and also our ability to win and then successfully mobilise large contracts.

“This is an extremely encouraging indicator for the future. The competitive nature in both B&I and commercial will always mean we will have an ever-changing portfolio and opportunities to improve our operating model.

“Our strength in part comes from an incredibly strong and diverse team at every level and their commitment to servicing and supporting a first class client portfolio.”

The latest turnover figure excludes that of the coffee chain Apostrophe in which it previously held a 50% stake and that it bought outright in April.

The CH&Co group comprises seven specialist businesses: Charlton House (staff catering at B&I sites), Lusso (City and fine dining), Chester Boyd (livery halls and private venues), ITA (venues and events booking agency), Ampersand (public and event catering at iconic & private venues) and Via 360 (bespoke reception services) and Apostrophe.

Written by
PSC Team