De Montfort University to house new café

The new building at the City Campus will accommodate Leicester Business School and Leicester De Montfort Law School from the autumn term. As part of the £35 million building project, Chartwells, part of Compass Group, will serve Costa Coffee drinks. Chartwells already operates a Spar convenience store and caters at the central food court at De Montfort University and at a Café Direct as part of a 10-year contract. In line with the new five-year contract for the café, this existing contract has been extended by a year. Sue Newman, catering manager, De Montfort University, said: "The University looks forward to the development of another good quality prestigious café by Chartwells which will form an integral part of the landmark Business and Law School Building, providing a valuable facility for University student and staff members." Tony Byrne, Business Director of Chartwells, said, "For universities, it is vital to combine high street quality with a conscience and to ensure that food and drink offerings fall within students' budgets. The new Faculty of Business and Law Building promises to provide De Montfort University students with a studying and socialising space to rival the high street and the Rainforest Alliance coffee should prove popular with the student community." Expected turnover from the café is £250,000 per annum. This news is announced at the same time as Chartwells has extended an existing catering and hospitality contract with Hedingham School and Sixth Form, a specialist maths and computing college, for five years. Chartwells will continue to provide meals for the 1000 students and 100 staff on site. A development chef and nutritionist are already creating menus which are compliant with the Government's food-based and nutrient-based standards.