Quadrant, the public sector caterer best known for its Post Office work, has won its first contract in the private sector.
The company, which holds 430 contracts and turns over more than £70m a year, is to manage the staff-feeding operation at Ferranti-Thomson Sonar Systems (UK) research centre in Weymouth, Dorset.
The contract is on an executive lease basis, which means Ferranti-Thomson directly employs the catering staff and pays Quadrant a management fee to run the contract and handle the purchasing.
It is a new contract, with Ferranti-Thomson having just built a restaurant for its 80 staff on site. "This is quite a small contract in monetary terms, but it's exciting because it's our first in the private sector," said Stephen Grosvenor, business development manager at Quadrant.
"The company approached us to see if we wanted to run it," he added. "The management at Ferranti saw an article in the press about our contract at the Land Registry in Weymouth and liked the look of us."
Under the 1984 Post Office & Telecommunications Act, Quadrant is barred from aggressively competing for private sector deals. But the act does state that when the company has "spare capacity" it may take on private sector work.