CH&Co Group merges with Concerto Group taking its turnover to £300m

CH&Co Group has announced it is to merge event caterer Concerto Group into its business, taking its turnover to £300m.

The deal completes CH&Co's event offer, since it means it can now offer venue finding, booking, catering, production and entertainment.

The business will now provide catering at 750 sites and employ more than 6200 people.

Concerto will continue to be run by chief executive Adam Elliott, who joined the business from the One Group in March. It currently runs contracts at venues including Old Billingsgate in London and the Liver Building in Liverpool, and manages the food and beverage at Apex hotels London through its Create division.

CH&Co Group chief executive, Bill Toner, said that as well as completing its events package, Concerto would provide further opportunities for the expanded group in the hotel sector.

He added: "Both companies bring a great mix of talent, expertise, creativity, resources and assets to the party, and together we create a really attractive proposition in this highly competitive arena. It also gives us an introduction into the hotel sector. This new territory for CH&Co Group is an area I know well and it's a very exciting prospect."

Eliott said: "As we enter what is perhaps the busiest time of the year for the events industry, our clients will enjoy the great food and service that our reputation is built on. Looking forward, we will be working closely with our new colleagues to pool resources and expertise to maximise the strength of the partnership and capitalise on the new growth potential available to us. The year ahead is going to be very exciting.

"Culturally, the two businesses are a great fit. Looking after our clients and our people is at the heart of what we both do, and as a result, we are able to fulfil our desire to consistently deliver innovative and delicious food and great service that delights and surprises our clients and our teams."

Concerto Group includes brands such as Ultimate Experience event management, event full service management agency Mask, corporate team building business Eventwise, venue finding specialists Venueseeker, and Christmas and summer party specialists JD Parties.

The acquisition is the latest in a number of mergers for CH&Co Group. In March it merged with Harbour & Jones, with founders and managing partners, Patrick Harbour and Nathan Jones remaining with the business.

Meanwhile, in 2016 CH&Co Group merged with independent education caterer the Brookwood Partnership and its sister company, ABsolutely Catering.

CH&Co Group and Harbour & Jones merge >>

CH&Co Group has won £58m in new and retained contracts so far in 2017 >>

Concerto announces the appointment of Adam Elliott as its new CEO >>
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