Compass revenues up 8% as B&I and sports and leisure drive growth

Compass Group has reported revenues for up 8% to £17b for its H1 trading period, driven by growth in business and industry and sports and leisure.

The catering giant said that operating profit was up by 11.6% at £1.22b for the six months to 31 March 2025.

During the period it reported securing new business worth £2.7b and added that it had a “strong client retention rate of over 96%”.

Europe now forms part of a new international region in its reporting, which is Europe combined with a rest of the world group (which represents 5% of its overall business).

Operating profit in this region increased by 13% to £312m, with organic revenue growth of 8.2% to £5.34b. At 95%, Compass said that client retention rate was significantly higher than historic levels.

It added that there had been good growth across all sectors, with business & industry, and sports and leisure the best performers.

During the period Compass acquired Dupont Restauration in France and 4Service in Norway.

Chief executive Dominic Blakemore said that the market for contract catering remained attractive, with first-time outsourcing accounting for 45% of new business wins.

He added: “Over the last 12 months, we have signed over $3.6b of new contracts, an increase of 8.5% year on year, and we have a strong pipeline of future business across all our markets. Our size, and balance sheet strength, give us the most scope in the industry to invest as we further enhance our unique sectorised approach and technology capabilities.

“We have a diverse sector portfolio, wide-ranging client base and significant local purchasing scale. Although not immune to macroeconomic pressures, we are confident in the resilience of our business model, strength of our value proposition and ability to capitalise on outsourcing opportunities.”