Hospitality groups too mean to share profits

Some of the UK's most successful hospitality firms have been accused of meanness for donating less than 0.5% of their profits to charity last year.

A new report has revealed that contract caterer Compass, for example, donated less last year than it did in 1997, despite a profits increase of 15.5%. In 1998 the group gave 0.2% of its pre-tax profits to charity, £39,000 less than it gave the year before.

"One per cent is a good figure and it is something to aspire to. Half a per cent is fair and anything below that is just mean. It is unacceptable," said Alison Rogers, chief executive of the industry's leading charity, Hospitality Action.

Rank Group, which increased profits by 15.9%, gave the smallest percentage of the industry's big companies. It donated 0.07% of profits in 1998, amounting to £180,000, although this was more than the £169,000 it gave the previous year.

Whitbread and Diageo both gave more than 1% of their pre-tax profits to charity. Ladbroke gave 0.46% but Bass donated just 0.14%.

Compass claimed it had been more generous this year because of the two earthquakes in Turkey.

"We have a major catering operation in Turkey and a lot of our staff were affected. Where possible we try to give to a charity that has direct links with our industry," said company secretary Ron Morley.

The report, Managing Your Stakeholders, studied 18 companies in the leisure, retail and banking industries. It costs £160 and is available from Janet Salmon on 020 8332 1594.

by Louise Bozec

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 25 November - 1 December 1999.