The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New investment for catering group
The boss of ambitious Scottish catering group Entier has revised his £100 million annual sales target upwards after receiving a major cash injection from the Business Growth Fund.
The north-east-based group, which acquired Perthshire-based caterer Wild Thyme late last year and runs the kitchens at Glamis Castle and The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery near Crieff, has secured £6.45m of investment cash from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) in order to pursue new opportunities in international markets.
In its most recent financial year to September 30 2016, Entier, a major provider of catering services to the oil and gas sector in the UK and overseas, generated revenues of £44.9m and a pre-tax profit of £1.5m.
However, chief executive Peter Bruce has long had loftier ambitions for the business and believes the BGF cash can help it achieve its full potential.
“I’ve said in the past that I want to grow Entier into a £100m company and, with the backing of BGF, I believe we could do far better than that,” he said.
“While the price of oil and gas remains low, offshore operators are keeping a keen eye on cost, which presents opportunities for companies like Entier because we are big enough to deliver large contracts, but small enough to work with clients to offer bespoke services on their offshore installations.”
Mike Sibson of BGF said: “We are most impressed by the way in which Peter Bruce and his team have differentiated themselves from their rivals.
“They provide a bespoke service and build strong relationships with their clients, and the customer feedback is outstanding.”