Catering Scotland

Independent caterer CH&Co has announced a merger with the Host Catermasters Group in a deal which gives the new combined business a turnover approaching £200m, and a team of 4,500 providing services to over 400 operations across the UK and Ireland.

The new company – The CH&Co Group – will be headed up by Bill Toner, formerly CEO of HCM Group (pictured right). Meanwhile, CH&Co’s co-founders, Robyn and Tim Jones (also pictured), will continue in their previous roles as founder and chairman respectively.

Ms Jones explained: ‘We’ve been working closely over the past months bringing the deal together and it’s become increasingly clear that the senior management teams of both companies…share the same values for client and customer relationships, corporate responsibility and team development, and that’s good news for our stakeholders.’

According to Ms Jones, the existing executive management teams of both CH&Co and HCM will remain largely in position but Stuart Lawson, CH&Co’s current Group Chief Executive, is leaving the business in due course having overseen a number of strategic changes and brand reviews within the company over the past 18 months.

Meanwhile, MML Capital’s Richard Mayers and Ian Wallis will also join the CH&Co Group board as non-executive directors, in addition to non-executive members Elizabeth McMeikan and Simon Hodson.