Charlton fills coffers despite price wars
Charlton House, the UK's third largest independent contract caterer, has boosted profit by 39% this year against a backdrop of fierce competition.
The group, which employs 1,000 people, reported today that new contracts this year helped lift pre-tax profit to £700,600 in the year to September 2003, from £503,000 the previous year. Turnover for the period increased by 24.6% to £32.3m.
"The growth has come against a backdrop of some difficult market conditions and fierce price competition," said Tim Jones, chairman and finance director.
Its biggest deal of the year came from the Government's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, Oxfordshire, worth £900,000 in annual turnover. Charlton House took over the contract from rival, Aramark, which had held the contract for 10 years.
The company said that sales performance in October was encouraging and it predicts turnover for 2004 of £40m.
by Christina Golding
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