School contracts add £23m to Initial turnover

Initial Catering Services added six contracts worth more than £17m in turnover to its state education business in the six months to 30 June. The deals cover more than 800 schools across Britain.

Initial's independent education business scooped more than 85 contracts, worth more than £6m in turnover, including a mixture of further education colleges and foundation schools.

During the six months, Initial's managing director Jim Walker said, the company also retained its contracts at Wokingham in Berkshire, Reading and Cornwall and extended its North East Lincolnshire and Gloucestershire meals-on-wheels services.

Initial Catering Services is part of a facilities management division within Rentokil Initial which also covers cleaning, hospital and management services. The division saw a 30% drop in interim profits to £18m, on turnover down 6% to £227m, with most of the shortfall, according to Walker, coming from the management services side.