Granada wins Eurostar contract

A joint venture between Granada Food Services of the UK and Cremonini of Italy has won the £40m-a-year turnover contract to provide on-board catering on Eurostar trains running between the UK and mainland Europe.

The Cross Channel Catering Company currently provides on-board services for Eurostar but its contract runs out at the end of May.

The new joint venture, dubbed Momentum, was set up specially to bid for the Eurostar deal.

Its contract is for an initial period of three years, with an option for a further four-year extension. The award followed a Europe-wide competitive tendering process.

Eurostar Group chairman and chief executive David Azéma said the quality of on-board services was a key factor in achieving customer loyalty.

Cremonini is Italy's market leader in catering on trains and at railway stations. It also has food distribution and food production wings. Its annual turnover is about £630m.

Granada Food Services turns over £900m a year.