Specialist Lindley gets nod at Manchester City

21 May 2003 by
Specialist Lindley gets nod at Manchester City

Manchester City Football Club has signed Lindley Catering to provide the catering facilities at its new 48,000-seat City of Manchester Stadium.

The club has also retained the services of John Benson-Smith, its consultant chef for the past year.

Specialist stadium caterer Lindley has a 10-year deal worth £5m a year in turnover to provide both match-day and non-match-day catering, from concourse refreshments to dining at six restaurants. Lindley will serve 3,000 meals every match day.

Benson-Smith, who has designed a range of sandwiches for fans, will continue to plan menus. The restaurants will offer a range of options, including a four-course carvery, a fine-dining service, and Chinese and Indian food.

"On match days," he said, "it's all about good fun food for the masses - jelly blancmanges, ice-creams, casseroles, ragu, and fish and chips. The biggest challenge is to attract conference and banqueting, and really make the opposition quake."

Benson-Smith is overseeing the final kitchen fittings at the stadium this week.

The stadium, built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games and recently refurbished, includes 11 kitchens, 19 bars, 69 corporate hospitality boxes, and conference and exhibition facilities. Manchester City FC will move in in August, leaving behind its former home in Maine Road.

Lindley Catering, a private company based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, turned over £24.1m last year. It has contracts at 27 football clubs across Britain, including concourse and hospitality catering for Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hibernian.

This month, it renewed its concourse catering deal at Ipswich Town FC for a further four years. The contract has annual sales of £500,000.

Lindley's business development director, Alex McCrindle, commented: "We have a great interest in what happens in the playoffs because of the impact it has on attendances."

However, Ipswich will stay in the First Division next season, having just missed out on a playoff spot.

By Ben WalkerSource: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 22 - 28 May 2003

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