Campbell buys third firm in UK

Irish catering, cafés and beverage firm Campbell Bewley has bought Cheltenham-based contract caterer Hunters for a sum understood to be in the region of £2m.

Hunters brings to the group an annual turnover of £10m from 40 contracts, and follows the acquisition last year of two other UK firms: Caterwise and Effective Partnerships.

Added to Lancashire-based Link Catering, bought in 1996, the aquisition means Campbell Bewley's UK contract catering business now nearly matches the operation in the Republic of Ireland, generating annual turnover of £32m from 220 contracts serviced by 1,700 staff.

The new buy was announced as Campbell Bewley reported annual results for 1997 showing a 28% boost in pre-tax profits to £3.15m on turnover up 46% to £100m. Staff numbers soared by 60% to 3,800.

Campbell Catering won 40 new contracts in Ireland, bringing its total to more than 220, and increased turnover by 29% to £40m. In the UK, Link Catering scored 25 new contracts and increased turnover 50% to £14m.

In September, Campbell Bewley moved into the US market with the £5.7m acquisition of Rebecca's, which comprises 11 cafés, a corporate catering arm with 11,000 clients in Massachusetts, an event catering division and a small contract catering division.

Turnover from the café division - which includes23 branches in Ireland and four in the UK - climbed 31% to £25m.