Catermasters, established by Nigel Johnson and Richard Moody in 1989, is a national caterer, operating across 120 sites and with a team of more than 550. Host Management was established in 2004 and is headed by chief executive Bill Toner. Host also has 120 operations across the UK and Ireland and a team of 1,000.
The new company will be headed by Toner as CEO, with Johnson taking the role of deputy CEO. According to Johnson, Toner was the natural choice for CEO: “Bill has a huge amount of experience of growing catering companies to a significant size and therefore our newly merged company will use his skills to the full.
“Given the size of our combined business, we now have the very exciting prospect to create focused B&I, education, leisure and healthcare divisions, which will be the team’s top priority in the coming months and Bill and I will be working closely on capitalising on these new opportunities.”
Toner added: “This is a very exciting move for both Host and Catermasters and strategically and operationally, this merger is an excellent fit. We are similar sized, high quality caterers and we share the same client-focused culture and business ethos. This merger will help us grow much more quickly and we’re all very excited by the future possibilities in our chosen segments.”
Both companies’ recent acquisitions, which include Catermasters’ purchase of Bite last year and Host’s acquisition of caterers Couture and Juice for Life in 2012 and the Style Services business in 2013, have enabled them to win successful tenders for larger contracts in new parts of the country.
Last year, Host was awarded the SSE group contract adding £20m turnover over a five-year contract, and also gained business in Ireland for the first time. Its catering contract at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust also added £10m over a five-year contract, and in July, Host announced its largest contract win to date for the eight-year, £16m turnover, Spectrum Leisure Complex in Guildford.
So far this year, Catermasters has won more than £6m worth of business, including Freeman UK, University of Law, Holiday Lettings, and a major five-year contract for the UK headquarters in London of global marketing and communications firm, Young & Rubicam.
Johnson said that as far as its clients and team members were concerned, it was business as usual. “However, there are aspects that both businesses can learn from each other so behind the scenes, we will be adopting the best initiatives and systems from both organisations so that all clients and teams benefit from our mutual experience,” he added.
Moody, who has been less involved in the business over recent years, has sold his remaining shares to HCM Group, but will continue to be involved as a consultant. Meanwhile, Catermasters joint managing director Tony Carr will continue to manage that business.