BaxterStorey wins £20m Goldman Sachs catering deal

Contract caterer BaxterStorey has scooped the prestigious catering deal at Goldman Sachs, thought to be worth around £20m, Caterer and Hotelkeeper has learned.

The independent caterer has been selected to replace incumbent operator Aramark at all of the global investment bank's London offices, three years after Aramark won the business from Compass Group's fine-dining division Restaurant Associates.

Aramark, which is part-owned by Goldman Sachs and manages the catering at its US sites, opted not to re-tender for the contract, because according to industry insiders the terms were not financially viable for the caterer.

Andrew Main, Aramark's UK chief executive, confirmed the decision to part company: "Aramark continues to work closely with Goldman Sachs in the US but we came to a mutual agreement to go our separate ways in the UK."

This led one industry expert to question what had changed to make the deal tenable for the new operator.

"If Aramark can't make it work, how can BaxterStorey do it? I hope they haven't come in and promised the earth if it's simply not doable," he said.

The new three-year contract includes client and executive dining as well as staff catering for around 9,000 Goldman Sachs employees across all the company's sites in the capital. Baxter­Storey declined to comment.

BaxterStorey's run of success continues with a lucrative three-year deal to cater at BBC North's new headquarters at MediaCityUK. Estimated by industry experts to be worth in the region of £1.5m in annual turnover, the contract will see BaxterStorey provide catering services to around 2,300 employees through staff restaurants, coffee and deli bars.

BaxterStorey is also catering for BBC North's internal hospitality requirements.

Noel Mahony (pictured), BaxterStorey's chief executive, said: "Even in these times of economic slowdown, leading employers still recognise the need to offer high quality dining services to their employees.

"Our proposition is very much focused on delivering seasonal food and assured provenance, along with outstanding service and close client relationships. It is this important combination that enables BaxterStorey to secure catering contracts at leading organisations such as the BBC."