Onwards and upwards
Hot Spots!, the themed-restaurant concept devised by Carlton, has just gone live in its first location. Plans for an office move are well advanced and two law-court restaurants have been officially opened.
Carlton Catering Partnership signs off its year as a Caterer Adopted Business in confident mood. The past year has seen steady growth, and more of the same is forecast for the year ahead. Managing director John Salisbury believes the contract catering sector is growing and the company is growing with it.
Salisbury is a cautious man, disinclined to trumpet the business loudly, but he points to some significant milestones. "We never lost a client during retendering last year; in fact, we've never lost one since the business began in 1992."
The past year saw the development of a new strand to Carlton's business, with the move into catering in law courts. The partnership has three such contracts and is hoping for more.
It supplied its first design-and-build kitchen and restaurant at North-east communications company Comcast. The client asked Carlton to both design the facility and run it. That, says Salisbury, is very satisfying: "You feel you have created something from nothing, rather than taken over something that is already there."
Perhaps the most exciting step of all for Carlton in the past year is the rolling out of its modular dining concept, Hot-Spots! This is aimed at small- to medium-sized contracts and operates from portable cabins. The client can specify different options from a selection of units to meet the feeding needs of the site.
The past 12 months have not seen any specific low spots, but Salisbury says he has had moments of disappointment when the company has gone to the wire on a contract bid and lost out. "Knowing how much hard work the staff have put into winning the bid, then to see it slip away - I feel sorry for them, but I suppose that's the nature of the selling business."
The months ahead see another significant step for Carlton. It is hoping to move into facilities management, offering a full range of services to a client rather than just catering.
Salisbury believes facilities management should be considered not only by large contract caterers but also small- to medium-sized companies.
"Clients are coming to expect a full range of services from one provider. They don't want different contractors for catering, cleaning, security, and portering."
Rather than develop its own facilities management division, Carlton is choosing to operate a partnership with an existing service company, each bringing its specialist skills. Their first full facilities management bid has just been submitted and Salisbury says more will follow.
Regarding takeover and acquisition, Salisbury says there are no plans for either. "I'm not interested in acquisition; to go for growth down that route means borrowing a lot of money. Then you risk losing control of your own destiny." Carlton's bank borrowings are low and Salisbury intends to keep it that way.
The business is targeted to grow in the next 12 months, but the growth will be steady and organic. Salisbury is looking for turnover growth of 10-15%. "Growth needs to be at a pace the operations side can cope with, otherwise you risk delivering a service less than the best possible."
Carlton's move to new offices in Winsford, Cheshire, is getting to the advanced planning stage and, as financial planning becomes more detailed, some surprises have emerged. Top of the shock list is the cost of security for the new offices. Carlton's provisional budget for the move was £15,000, to cover items such as carpeting, furniture, wiring and security.
The company's existing office in Winnington is relatively well protected by external factors. Carlton is on a second floor and the ground floor is well alarmed; outside is a factory security lodge manned 24 hours a day, and the site is well lit.
The new offices, however, are on the ground floor with lots of glass windows and the industrial estate is quiet at night. After taking professional advice, the first estimate for security equipment has been trebled.
"It's the computer equipment we have to safeguard. As well as all our own records, there's all the client information," explains Salisbury.
On the new-business front, Carlton has just won a piece of business so small that it will only need one staff member to run it. British Vita, a foam rubber manufacturer, needs someone to provide simple buffet lunches and hospitality entertaining for senior managers.
It will be the first time Carlton has had just one person working at a site, so the company will introduce special working practices to ensure the person's safety.
Among the measures coming in will be a system of regular reporting, with the employee contacting someone on the site to say everything is OK, and that contact then being recorded. Operation manager Trish Billington will also be making more regular visits to the site than would be usual for a small site, possibly two or three times a week.
Two of the law courts where Carlton holds contracts have been officially opened - the new Sheffield Combined Court and the refurbished Worcester Crown Court. The historic Worcester court-house has been officially designated as a Worcester tourist attraction.
Does this mean an opportunity for Carlton Catering to sell a few more afternoon teas to curious tourists? Salisbury reflects: "Well, it can't do any harm."
