New Contract Caterer Tracker service from CGA revealed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on food and drink businesses serving workplaces, education and other sectors.
Contract caterer total sales were down 45% on the first three months of 2020 and the number of units open for service in the first quarter of 2021 was down by 18% on 2020.
Karl Chessell, CGA’s director of hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “These figures reveal the full impact of Covid-19 restrictions on the UK’s contract catering sector. The widespread shift to working from home, the short-notice closure of many education and leisure sites and the wholesale cancellation of events have all been devastating for caterers in early 2021.
“While we can expect to see a gradual reopening of society as the year goes on, it is going to be a long road to recovery for contract caterers. With some consumers likely to continue their work and leisure habits of lockdown, and Brexit-related challenges on food supply and prices still in evidence, it will remain a very tough trading environment. The survival of businesses is at stake, and the sector deserves sustained support from government to protect jobs.”
CGA’s partners on the contract caterer tracker include Bartlett Mitchell, BaxterStorey, CH&CO, Compass UK and Sodexo UK.