CH&Co posts record turnover of £77m for 2011/12
Contract caterer CH&Co has posted a record annual turnover of £77m for the year ended March 2012, up 6% on the previous year.
The company also predicted that sales would rise by "at least" another 20% to well over £90m by March 2013, with turnover reaching £145m by 2017 as part of its five-year growth plan.
The company declined to reveal any details of pre tax profits, stating that these were only preliminary figures.
CH&Co said the success was down to its restructure into two arms - Business & Industry (B&I) and Commercial - which in turn run a combination of six specialist branded businesses.
Its biggest win in 2011/12 was the commercial team's appointment by Historic Royal Palaces - worth an estimated £60m over five years. It has also won the equivalent London Zoo public catering contract.
The B&I team has also enjoyed success by winning Thames Water, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and Hilton Hotels contracts, and was also retained by Sony UK - a contract that it will have held for more than 21 years. CH&Co has yet to see these wins reflected in full-year accounts
Chairman Tim Jones (pictured) said: "Make no mistake: our independence is fundamental to our success. Our clients love it and we intend to continue serving them in our own unique, independent, style. The six specialist businesses are delivering excellent service to clients, but they have yet to achieve their full potential, so while our progress is pleasing we feel we still have much more to achieve. We have not yet felt the full financial benefit of our contract successes over the past 18 months, so - without being immodest - we can look to the future in both the short and long term with some confidence."
At a central level, CH&Co founder Robyn Jones is leading a three-tier strategy to support all six businesses as they continue to grow. The programme is designed to: ensure CH&Co maintains its reputation as the market leader for food development and merchandising; nurture young talent; and develop charitable initiatives.
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By Neil Gerrard
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