The FINANCIAL — Facilities management firm Mitie has bolstered its catering business with the acquisition of a majority stake in food and drinks company Creativevents.
Mitie has bought a 51% stake in the catering business for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks to offer an "unbeatable proposition" to the market.
As Caterer and Hotelkeeper reported, the announcement follows a particularly strong period for Mitie's catering division. New and retained contracts, including Diageo, WorldPay and the Office of Fair Trading, helped Mitie grow this arm of the business 45% in its last financial year, it reported in June.
The acquisition of Creativevents will see it add new clients to its portfolio, including Earls Court, Olympia and ExCel Exhibition Centres, Brooklands Motor Museum, National Army Museum and RHS Chelsea, Hampton Court Palace and Tatton Park Flower Shows.
Creativevents was founded 15 years ago by brothers Adrian and Ian Willson in a two-bedroom flat in West Norwood with funding from the Prince's Trust. It has since grown to provide a number of services including catering, retail cafés and bars, hospitality, fine dining, conference and banqueting and 'pop-up' catering services.
Allister Richards, managing director for Mitie's catering business, predicted a strong future for the new partnership.
"There is huge synergy between the two companies," he said.
"Creativevents has a superb reputation for offering creative and flexible solutions at the premium end of the event catering market. When you look at the combined talent and credentials of our two teams and the broader skills set of Mitie as a whole, we will offer an unbeatable proposition to the market."
Adrian Willson added: "This is an exciting move for Creativevents and it will enable us to secure new growth for the company.
"We were won over by the amazing entrepreneurial ethos at Mitie. With Mitie's backing we will have the same resources as all of the bigger players and I am confident that we are well poised to grow our business further."
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