Graysons Restaurants buys Duchy Catering

Graysons Restaurants, the contract caterer set up last year with backing from ex-Compass chairman Sir Francis Mackay, has bought Midlands-based Duchy Catering, Caterersearch can reveal.

The deal adds a significant £15m of annual turnover to the start-up and extends its reach into the North of England, including Yorkshire and Merseyside.

Graysons, which started work at the Financial Ombudsman Service this month, has assembled a management team with significant contract catering experience and an acquisition to bring scale to the operation had been expected.

Rowena Edwards, Graysons chief executive, said: “Acquiring a good quality business to support our growth plans has always been an important part of our strategy and this move comes at an exciting time for our company as we celebrate our first anniversary.”

Duchy, which bought Hopkinson Catering in March 2007, operates in the business and industry and education sectors. As part of the deal, Graysons plans to keep Duchy’s regional office in Leeds open.

Graysons, which had three contracts before the Duchy buy, has recently won a fourth with a deal to caterer for staff at London’s wax-work attraction Madame Tussauds. The contract was previously run by Compass Group’s Eurest division.

For more on the caterer see our mini Graysons profile in “The Knowledge”>>

Graysons Restaurants wins Chiddingstone Castle deal>>

Graysons Ltd brings in more Compass talent>>

Graysons lands first contract at chemical labs>>

By Chris Druce

E-mail your comments to Chris Druce here.

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next restaurant job here with Caterersearch.com jobs