String of new contracts set to propel Vacherin to 20% turnover increase

A string of new business wins will propel London-based contract caterer Vacherin to a 20% rise in turnover in 2018, the firm has predicted.

 

The news came as it recorded its 15th consecutive annual sales increase in 2017.

 

Figures published this week for the year ended 31 August 2017 showed turnover at £19.7m, which was an increase of nearly 15% on the £17.2m the business turned over in the same period the year before.

 

The latest accounts show the first full year that Phil Roker was managing director, as part of a new management structure that the business hailed as a "great success".

 

The 15-year-old company claimed it had enjoyed the best year in its history for new business, winning eight new contracts worth more than £5m a year.

 

The contracts, many of which were mobilised at the end of 2017, included deals to provide catering at London Stock Exchange Group, Miller Insurance Services, PSP Investments, Advent International, the Crown Estate, Regent's University London and two co-working sites for London-based flexible office provider Workspace.

 

While the new deals had some effect on turnover in the year to 31 August 2017, Vacherin said it expected them to drive a marked increase in the year to August 2018, estimated to be a further 20%.

 

Meanwhile, operating profit in the year to August 2017 dropped to £524,000, down from nearly £671,000 the year before, which the company put down to an investment in resources ahead of the new contracts starting.

 

The business has also won two further contracts in its central London market, at law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and at a global media organisation which the firm has declined to name.

 

Clive Hetherington, owner and finance director has said: "We are absolutely delighted with these results. Our policy has always been to employ in advance the resources required to manage increased business levels.

 

"As a result of this investment in resource our overhead costs increased as a percentage of turnover but other key performance measures such as contract and staff retention, turnover and cash generation remain very strong and overall the financial health of the business is very robust."

 

Chairman and co-owner Mark Philpott added: "Our business philosophy is the same as when Clive and I launched the business 15 years ago.

 

"We aspire to surpass client expectations and aim to be viewed as an extension of our client's existing teams. This strategy continues to prove successful by our business success. Our employees are the lifeblood of Vacherin and we have been refreshing our learning and development strategies to ensure our workforce remains engaged and happy, as well as maintaining our excellent low levels of staff turnover."

 

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