Graysons, the new contract caterer backed by former Compass Group chairman Sir Francis Mackay, has recruited two new senior executives and launched a dedicated leisure division.
As reported in Caterer in February, Rowena Edwards - another Compass veteran - is to join the firm as chief executive of Graysons Restaurants from 1 May. Edwards was UK and Ireland sales director at Compass and previously held a number of managing director roles, including running the defence division, ESS.
Graysons' dedicated leisure division will be called Graysons Hospitality Associates. The operation will be headed by David Cheeseman as chief executive - most recently he was HR director at Compass's sport, leisure and hospitality division.
Graysons is one of a number of independents to have turned its back on the purchasing discount model favoured by the sector's larger players. It will instead operate only management-fee or commercial contracts, initially in and around London.
Group chairman Philip Nash said: "When we were setting up we decided we wanted to do this only if we could be sure we'd be involved with top-quality food and wouldn't have to compromise."
In the mid-term, Graysons plans to expand into the South-east and major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. The company picked up its first business and industry contract at LGC, a provider of chemical and forensic analysis, based in Teddington, Middlesex, last month.
“I am really looking forward welcoming Graysons Restaurants new chief executive Rowena Edwards who joins us on 1st May which I believe further demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our business for the future,” adds Nash.
Read more contract catering news at www.caterersearch.com/contractcatering
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By Chris Druce
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