£23bn Compass sales

COMPASS Group has served up a healthy 18pc rise in its full-year profit to end 2017 on £1.6bn.

In the 12 months to the end of September, the catering group reported a 15pc increase in its revenue to £ 22.6bn, with growth driven by its business in North America where it caters for Twitter and Google. However, Compass’s business at remote oil and gas extraction and mining sites continued to struggle after it was hit by the 2015 oil price crash. Revenue in the division dropped 14pc. Turnover for its European operations was up 1.6pc to £5.9bn, while profits rose 1.2pc to £428m.