Reading: The Brookwood Partnership and ABsolutely Catering merge with CH&Co Group
The Brookwood Partnership, a leading independent education caterer, and ABsolutely Catering, its sister company, have merged with Reading-based CH&Co Group. Brookwood’s co-founders, Kate Martin and Sue Parfett, will continue in their current roles as managing partners. The merger gives the newly enlarged Group a turnover in excess of £200 million. Its associated brands will now provide catering at over 600 sites across the UK and employ nearly 6,000.
Education catering has become increasingly competitive and the merger gives Brookwood the opportunity to compete more effectively. Correspondingly it gives CH&Co Group, which currently operates some contracts in the independent and state school catering-services market, a much larger foothold in these important sectors.
Bill Toner. CH&Co Group CEO, said: “As we’ve proved over the past year since merging with Host and Catermasters, it is possible to have a larger group but maintain the feel and personal contact associated with smaller companies. Our Group is made up of a number of niche brands, each targeting specific business areas. Brookwood and ABsolutely Catering will operate separately as education specialists.”
Kate Martin, managing partner in The Brookwood Group, said, “With the merger we will have greater resources between us to constantly develop and enhance our client service, and of course we the same ethos in respect of food, people and clients.”
Founded in 1996, The Brookwood Partnership was a pioneer within the education catering sector, putting chefs back into school kitchens and offering modern food styles that children wanted to eat. It acquired the educational contracts from Graysons Education in 2013, and moved into the publically-funded schools sector under the brand of ABsolutely Catering. As a group, it provides a fresh-food service to nearly 170 schools, serving 65,000 fresh meals each school day.
