Compass plans to keep Circadia

The sell-off by Compass of its hotels in London should not affect Circadia, the £2m central production kitchen business opened in 1999 in the south London borough of Merton. Circadia's primary role has been to supply cook-chill banqueting food for those Forte hotels within the M25 ring.

Compass says it intends to keep Circadia and expects that supply arrangements currently held with London hotels for banqueting cook-chill food will continue, possibly expanding into other hotels. However, it is less clear if any of the planned expansion of the Circadia business into other parts of Britain will happen.

It is believed that Compass had planned to open a Circadia cook-chill unit in the Midlands to serve that region and the North-west of England plus another cook-chill production unit in the North-east, which would have also been used to serve the Forth-Clyde Valley in Scotland.

A Compass spokesman said Circadia remained important to the business.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 26 April - 2 May 2001