Sodexo sets out growth plan including £850m tech investment

Sodexo has announced a 2030 growth acceleration plan to restore its status as a caterer that is “fully back in the game, competing with the best in our industry”.

The news comes as the catering giant announced it had secured a contract to deliver foodservice across technology company Meta’s global portfolio, in one of its largest single wins to date. 

A key target of its growth plan, launched by chief executive Thierry Delaporte, is to exceed 5% organic growth and 5% operating margin by 2030.

He said: “Our ambition is clear. By 2030, we want Sodexo to be fully back in the game, competing with the best in our industry, delivering consistent growth, improving profitability in a disciplined way and becoming the partner of choice for our clients.”

In the short term, for the 2027 fiscal year, Delaporte said the business would target organic revenue growth of 2%-3% with margins between 3.2%-3.4%.

Jean Renton, Sodexo UK chief executive, added that the growth was already evident in the UK market with new contract wins boosting performance.

She said: “With 30,000 colleagues delivering food and support services across multiple industries, we’ve recently secured significant new multi-service partnership and contract extensions. These include the Scottish Parliament, George Watson’s College, HM Naval Base Portsmouth, Leyland Trucks, the Wallace Collection, Kent County Cricket, plus EY and ESB in Ireland, with further wins to announce in the coming weeks.”

Sodexo plan to spend £850m worldwide between now and 2030 to improve its technology, procurement and organisational structure, which it said would include scaling digital and AI solutions to support growth and decision making.

Renton added: “Technology is transforming how we support our clients, consumers and colleagues. It helps us create better experiences, deliver greater value for our clients and improve the way we operate, while remaining true to one simple principle: technology should enhance human experiences, not replace them.

“We’re investing in digital solutions and AI that help clients better understand their organisations and the people they serve. By analysing millions of interactions, we generate insight that enables smarter decisions, more personalised experiences and stronger commercial outcomes.”