Hospitality Today Christmas 2016 - Jan 2017 | Page 9

hospitalitytoday. com | 9
where from zero turnover four years ago, this year will see 44,000 covers in December.
Looking to the future, Amadeus will continue to innovate and grow, both organically and through new contracts. It will also continue to be selective in who it chooses to work with – from clients to suppliers.“ We are currently owned privately by LDC, part of Lloyds Group. We’ re their biggest acquisition.”
Amadeus wants to‘ stick to its knitting’, to coin Watson’ s phrase, and stay true to what it is good at, namely adding to the venue experience and driving transaction and spend with great food and service.“ We can serve 16,000 fans in two hours before a show at a venue.” The team wants to work with clients that share their values – as a quality caterer with provenance high on the agenda, Amadeus will only welcome suppliers that are proud of their products and have clear traceability.“ We will exceed our £ 50 million target in 2019. We will continue to win two or three contracts a year. We turn down 12 for every one we tender” said Watson, adding that Amadeus id still seen as mainly a regional player, and“ we want to do more national business”.“ Making an acquisition could step-change us” said Watson, adding that he could not see that happening for at least six months. We have a unique perspective as a group which owns venues- we understand the venue mindset.” As Steve Norris, Arena’ s chairman, brought The Arena Christmas Event to a close, it was announced that over £ 1,000 had been raised for Hospitality Action and Springboard( both charities supported by HT). www. amadeusfood. co. uk