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www.intrafish.no (Published 20.03.2009)
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Foodservice newcomer wins €10 million in new contracts
Steve Robinson
Published - March 20. 2009
U.K. foodservice newcomer Seafood Holdings continued to gain business from established rivals M&J Seafood, securing lucrative contracts to supply catering giant Compass Group UK & Ireland.
Seafood Holdings, which trades as Direct Seafood, succeeded in renewing an existing deal worth more than €6.4 million ($8.4 million) for 18 months for fresh seafood products.
In a separate deal, the company again secured business with Compass Group to supply a range of frozen products worth €3.2 million ($4.2 million) beginning in April, originally contracted to M&J Seafood.
London Stock Exchange-listed Compass offers a range of catering services for business and industry, healthcare, and education, among others in the U.K. market, and has annual turnover of €11.7 billion ($15.3 billion).
The fresh seafood deal, originally contracted to M&J Seafood, was first won by Seafood Holdings in September 2007, founder and CEO Toby Baxendale told IntraFish, who described his company as “the new kid on the block” in the foodservice sector.
Baxendale cited proximity to import markets as a key advantage for his company.
“We’re closer to source of supply because we’re importers ourselves; we are primary buyers on all the Icelandic auctions. Our depot infrastructure is based around the main auctions of the U.K., so we’re much more horizontally integrated,” he said.
“Being primary buyers, we can guarantee traceability, which in turn means we have full information for our customers on sustainability."
Seafood Holdings said Compass Group is retaining a strong emphasis on sustainability in the products it seeks, despite the recession.
“We view them as a good prospect coming into the recession,” Baxendale said, adding budgets are being slashed at many companies and clients are being entertained internally instead of being taken out to restaurants, which is extra business for in-house catering firms.
Seafood Holdings said two other dual-held contracts with catering giants Sodexo, the second-largest contract caterer in the U.K., and Aramark, another major international foodservice firm, are worth a combined €2.1 million ($2.9 million).
“I’m positive, as long as you’ve got your cost base and lean, you can do well in the recession,” Baxendale said.
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