Granada-Compass lifts takeover title
Contract caterers played a busy role in the takeover tables this year, which were dominated by the £17.5b merger of hospitality giants Granada and Compass. This spawned a group which, among other assets, commanded more than half of the UK contract catering market.
But its rivals were not idle. Gardner Merchant finally adopted the name of its French parent, Sodexho, French group Elior snapped up Nelson Hind for £20m, Aramark formed a £300m joint venture with Campbell Bewley in Ireland, and Senate Food Services merged with Catercheck to create four new companies.
New names include BaxterSmith, set up by the founders of Baxter & Platts, and Wilson Storey, created in September by two former Granada Food Services directors and merged this month with Halliday Catering Services.
Granada Compass expects to complete the £3b auction of its Forte hotel division by March, with the Cavendish to be the first to go, for £60m to the De Vere Group, which also picked up St David's Hotels this year.
Marylebone Warwick Balfour's £76m acquisition of the Malmaison was voted corporate deal of the year by Knight Frank, while the chain's founder, Ken McCulloch, promised new upmarket (Columbus) and budget chains next year.
Robert Breare, former chairman of Fatty Arbuckles, also made waves when he formed Noble House Leisure with the acquisition of Taipan Taverns. He rescued 10 Fatty Arbuckles from receivership, bought the Oriental Restaurants group and is still believed to be eyeing up Wolverhampton & Dudley, which rejected his first bid.