Cater Plus and Taylor Shaw merge

Cater Plus and Taylor Shaw have merged in a deal that creates a catering company worth more than £30m, Caterersearch has learnt. 

Cater Plus, the largest privately owned provider of catering and hotel services to the care home market, operates in Birmingham and the south of England, while Taylor Shaw specialises in the education market in Scotland, the north of England and Birmingham.

Jim Lovett, managing director of Cater Plus, said the new company would be able to compete more effectively against larger rivals.

He added there would not be any job losses due to the merger as the companies focus on different catering markets and parts of the UK, limiting overlap between offices.

"There are no big management changes and no job losses are foreseen," Lovett told Caterersearch. "(The merger) will create additional opportunities."

Lovett, previously operations director at French catering giant Sodexo Healthcare, was one of the leaders of a team that bought Cater Plus Services in March 2007.

Cater Plus, set up in 1991, supplies catering, procurement, housekeeping and training to care homes, shelters and schools.

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By Nick Huber

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