Granada group buys ACMS to work alongside Sutcliffe

The Granada Group has made its first acquisition in the contract catering sector since February with the takeover of Thames Valley-based ACMS.

ACMS, which has 59 contracts and turns over £8m a year, specialises in business and industry contracts. It is to come under the direction of Granada's Fairfield Catering business, which specialises in education and kosher catering.

"We wanted ACMS because it is a well-organised little business with a first-class reputation and a large number of blue-chip clients," Martin Waller, managing director of Fairfield, told Caterer.

"We also wanted to acquire a company we could use to develop outside the sphere of Sutcliffe, and we want to make the point clearly understood that this business was acquired by Granada and will be kept independent," he added.

He said ACMS would retain its name and all staff, and its mandate was to increase existing business alongside that of Sutcliffe. "It will have its own identity and own client base and it is even possible we could at times find ourselves in competition with Sutcliffe," he said.

Robert Lynch, founder and managing director of ACMS, is to stay with the business as a "consultant" for a minimum of six months under the terms of the deal. Mr Waller said he was hopeful the relationship would last longer, however.

"This was a very friendly acquisition that developed over a number of months and I am hopeful Robert's involvement with the business will continue for a long time ahead," he said.