CATERING CONSOLIDATES

Food service giant Sysco has quadrupled its business in Ireland since entering the market by taking over Pallas Foods in 2009. Turnover was €460m in the year to July 2022 compared with €110m in the final year of Pallas’s independence. Helping further Sysco growth will be the recent acquisition of Ready Chef, owned by William Tallon and his brother David Tallon, which was waved through by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in January.

Ready Chef specialises in the supply of fresh and prepared fruit and vegetables to the food service sector. Founded by William Tallon Senior in the 1960s, the company has been run by his sons from Glasnevin since 1990.

Ready Chef Ltd had turnover of €19m in 2022, but that was down from €22m in 2019. Like for so many other businesses, Covid lockdowns were a trauma for Ready Chef, with sales plummeting to €11m in 2020.

The 2002 accounts show Ebitda of c.€760,000, so the Sysco transaction will provide a pleasing retirement package for William (61), who owned 70% of the business, and David (63), who owned 30%.

Sysco said that Ready Chef will continue to operate independently under the leadership of the current management team.

Managing director William Tallon commented: “Having built a family business over the last 40 years with my brother David, it is important for us to secure its long-term future. By joining the Sysco family, we are confident we are achieving that.”

Leading the deal for Sysco was Mark Lee, CEO of Sysco Ireland. Lee was appointed to the top role two years ago, having been commercial director in the firm for three years previously. His interesting career trajectory has spanned sponsorship roles with Guinness, O2 and Eircom, a brief spell helping to establish The Doyle Collection hotel brand,

Sysco Ireland’s Mark Lee made the transition from sponsorships to chief executive

followed by seven years in operations roles with Compass Group in Ireland.

Like its American multinational peer Sysco (334 distribution facilities, 725,000 customer locations, annual sales $76bn), Compass grows by acquisition too. Its latest deal is the proposed €550m acquisition of British rival CH&CO, which operates in Ireland under the Gather & Gather brand.

Like Sysco, in Ireland Compass also supplies contract catering services to companies and organisations across the business and industry, education, and healthcare sectors, under the Compass, Levy, and Fitzers Catering brands. If the deal goes through, there will be even less choice for Compass and Sysco customers, and it’s one of the CCPC and its UK equivalent to ponder.