One of the biggest caterers on New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) has been bought out in order to protect trade at the wholesale market.
Foodservice firm Chef’s Connection has been acquired by Premier Fruits and P&I Fruits in a 50:50 partnership.
P&I directors Paul Emmett, Ian Taylor and Paul Bishop and Premier Fruits managing director Jason Tanner struck a deal to buy the former Re:fresh award winner on 20 July.
Bishop told FPJ the acquisition was made to keep Chef’s Connection’s trade - which amounts to around £100,000 a week on average - within the market rather than being lost to caterers not based at the south London site.
He said: “Chef’s has been one of our biggest customers and we have a very good working relationship.”
Tanner added: “They are one of the marquee names on the market and going into the redevelopment, we want Chef’s to remain one of the biggest businesses.”
Chef’s Connection was set up by Danny Murphy and won the national and regional foodservice supplier of the year in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
Tanner said Chef’s Connection will follow the traditional model of sourcing 95 per cent of its produce from the market. This model is employed successfully by a number of caterers on the market including S Thorogood & Son with Classic, Premier Fruits with Cream of the Crop as well as MG & Son and T&J Wholesale.
Bishop moved to stress that the deal has not created a cartel at NCGM and that Chef’s remains free to trade with whichever wholesaler it sees fit. He said: “Chef’s will not be given any preferential treatment and will be treated like any other customer. There has been concern from other caterers about a conflict of interests but that’s never what we wanted and not what will happen. We’re not some kind of white knight; this was a business decision but it was made with the future of the market in mind.”
The management team of Danny Murphy, Paul Murphy and Miles Browne remains in place with the help of Bishop and Tanner.
Bishop said the deal had been “a lot of man hours, a lot of work and a lot of stress” but is looking forward to making Chef’s Connection a “strong, profitable business” in the market.
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