The Airedale Group acquires South Coast Catering to create one of the largest specialist Service Networks in the UK
The Airedale Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of design, build and maintenance services for commercial kitchens, announces it has completed the acquisition of South Coast Catering today.
South Coast, operates from head offices in Weymouth and employs over 85 people. It first commenced trading in this sector in 1991 and although its core business is providing reactive and planned maintenance services to many national and regional clients,more recently South Coast has diversified into laundry, light equipment and scheme work.
The acquisition will see Airedale combine its Technical Services division with South Coast’s established maintenance business. The enlarged Group will employ a network of over 70 specialist catering engineers, positioning the Group as one of the largest independent service operators in the UK catering industry.
South Coast’s Founder and Managing Director, Alex Hooper Greenhill is committing his future to South Coast and will remain in his fulltime role as a Director. “We are delighted to be joining Airedale. We chose them because they have demonstrated a long term commitment to this marketplace and they understand the value of our brand. This is the next step forward for South Coast, our employees, clients and partners. With the support and backing of the Airedale Group we can provide our clients with an even better service.”
Rob Bywell, CEO of Airedale says: “it is fantastic news for our business that Alex and his team have agreed to join the Airedale family. We are excited to be working with like-minded people who have built a successful business by focusing on providing its customers with a great experience.”
Airedale will now operate from six offices throughout the UK, giving it true national coverage. The South Coast brand will sit alongside the other brands in the Group which include Caterform (manufacturing), Airedale Building Services (Turnkey) and The Design House. The combined business will employ almost 200 people, with Service comprising around 100 employees, which Rob goes on to say “reflects our commitment to ensuring our clients get the very best support and service.”
“The combined engineer base will give us great depth of service coverage in every region of the UK, and will allow us to really differentiate in this aspect of our offering. We will continue to invest, build and enhance our capabilities in this area.”
Andrew Bristow, Chairman of Airedale states: “Airedale is growing as a result of its long term investment strategy in the catering sector. This year will be another strong performance for the business, with the number of design and build schemes having almost doubled over the last two years. Bringing together the strength of Airedales project business and South Coasts service offer will be another step change for the Group. Together we will be able to provide a complete kitchen solution for clients on a nation wide basis.”
Rob adds: “This is an exciting period for everyone in our business, as we actively look for opportunities to expand our capabilities and provide our clients with an industry leading service. To achieve this we need to attract the best people and partners. Our strategy is not just about buying businesses, it’s about finding the pioneers that can help us reach our long term goals.”