Contract catering now a £3b market

Contract caterers in the UK last year served almost 1.5 billion meals, worth more than £3b. These were among the findings of the UK Contract Catering Survey 2001, published by the British Hospitality Association's Contract Catering Forum.

It found that new contracts helped push sales up last year by 8.5% to £3.3b. Hospitals and nursing homes, for example, experienced a 5.2% increase last year, with a 19.7% increase in the number of meals served.

But the number of school contracts fell by 7.6%, resulting in a dip of 1.8% in the number of meals served. School contracts have been declining each year since 1997.

The report said: "One factor here is that smaller schools are becoming unviable for many contractors."

The number of full-time workers in contract catering fell to 103,424, representing a drop of 1.3% compared with 1999 and 10.9% compared with 1998.

Conversely, numbers of part-time workers increased by 2.8%.

Total wages rose by 7% from £1.3b to £1.4b.

Since the forum conducted its first contract catering survey in 1990, contract catering has become one of hospitality's largest sectors, serving more meals than hotels and restaurants.

In the past decade, the number of places serving food prepared by contract caterers has increased by 71%, the number of meals by 125% and turnover by 150%.

The report costs £95. For a copy, contact the British Hospitality Association on 020 7404 7744.

By Louise Bozec