A shortfall in demand from caterers was blamed for a fall in like-for-like sales at food supplier Booker in the 13 weeks to 2 July.

The cash-and-carry business reported that its non-tobacco sales dropped by 1.8% over the period.

A spokesman for Booker parent the Big Food Group (which includes the Iceland supermarket chain) said catering demand had been lowered by the soft overseas tourism market and the Euro 2004 football tournament.

Viewers had stayed at home to watch the games, or viewed them in pubs where they tended to drink rather than eat, he said.

However, Booker’s sister company Woodward Foodservice managed to increase like-for-like sales by 32% over the same period.

Woodward is undergoing a heavy investment programme to build it into a contract food supplier to large national accounts and it is not expected to make a profit for a couple of years.

by Angela Frewin

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis