Lindley Venue Catering signs new £18m Watford FC deal

Lindley Venue Catering signs new £18m Watford FC deal

Lindley Venue Catering has signed a new 10-year deal at Watford FC worth £18m after just one season as part of an initial five-year contract.

The sports stadia catering division of the Lindley Group won the original deal last year but nine months later, a new contract was brokered that will take the provision of catering, hospitality, sales, marketing and event management services through to 2023-24.

Scott Duxbury, Watford FC's chief executive, said: "We appointed Lindley Venue Catering at the start of the season to bring a professional approach to developing all aspects of the catering, hospitality and events business at Vicarage Road.

"From day one, they have worked with us to step change the way the club manages its catering and event business and after just the first season, Lindley has demonstrated the positive impact partnering with a specialist caterer can have on enhancing our fans' match day experience, and their vast experience in the UK sports stadia environment has enabled them to identify further revenue-generating opportunities for the club.

"It is this joint approach and the common goal of establishing Vicarage Road as a stadium appropriate to meet the needs of the club which has led to us mutually agreeing to extend the initial four-year contract into a 10-year partnership with both parties benefiting from the arrangement."

Jonathan Davies, Lindley Group's sales & marketing director, added: "When Lindley Venue Catering was appointed by Watford FC, it was evident that the new owners and management were on a very determined mission to turnaround the fortunes of the club and return the team to the premiership.

"Watford FC had made clear that its ambition is to completely refurbish the stadium and whilst Vicarage Road has some very good public concourse facilities, including a large public bar and modern kiosks, we felt that the hospitality areas needed to be developed if they are to realise their full potential and match the standard offered at other Premiership and Championship grounds.

At the heart of the new long-term commitment is a £1m development of the south west corner facilities at the 17,500-capacity stadium, which will include two new flexible hospitality areas.

Lindley will oversee the design and installation of new kitchens and two floors of new hospitality facilities. The top floor will feature an dining area equipped with LCD screens to create the ambience of a sports bar.

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