Catering by Churchill rebrands as Radish to take on B&I sector

Catering by Churchill has rebranded as Radish in a bid to secure more business and industry (B&I) contracts.

The catering arm of facilities management provider Churchill Services has doubled in size in the past year, with turnover increasing by £8m to £17m, thanks to wins including Capital City College Group, Bolton University and a number of care homes.

It has now rebranded as it seeks to stand out with a combined services offer that complements its cleaning and maintenance services.

Radish managing director Rebecca Bridgement, who joined from Elior in January to establish the catering brand, said it wanted to be recognised for the way it operates as an independent business.

She told The Caterer: "We want to grow and it would be great to double in size every year. That's my aim. We're strong in education and assisted living, so I can see us growing there, definitely. But we also want to get into B&I. That's a big growth sector."

Bridgement said that Radish would work with the parent business to gain better access to B&I by pitching for companies the cleaning division already services.

"In the nine months I've been working with Churchill we've already gained three multi-service contracts," she said. "The clients like the fact we have experienced people running each sector. Our core business is cleaning, but we also have dedicated people who understand catering. It's worked really well so far.

"We want to be the leading independent caterer and known for being different. With many large firms buying smaller caterers, there is room in the market. We're in a fortunate position. I have the backing of Churchill, but we're like a brand new company coming into the market."

Churchill Services is an independently owned facilities management service provider with a turnover of £145m. Its catering arm was established by the acquisition of Redcliffe Catering in 2013 and Pride Catering in 2015. These businesses will now both be branded as Radish.

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